The non-alcoholic sector is forecast by Global Market Insights to reach US$30 billion in 2025, with non-alcoholic beer driving the category, and increasing interest in zero proof wine and spirits.Supplied by Gruvi
Since Dry January was launched 10 years ago by the non-profit Alcohol Change UK, the abstinence campaign continues to attract more and more participants around the world each year, but members of the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association expect the program to reach its high point soon. They expect consumers to stop seeing booze-free beverages as a trend.
“I really think that instead of hitting this one peak, this one month, it’s going to segment over the 12 months of the year,” said Anika Sawni, the Canadian co-founder of Gruvi, which produces a range of non-alcoholic beer and wine out of brewery in Denver.
Anika Sawni is co-founder of Gruvi, which produces a range of non-alcoholic beer and wine out of a brewery in Denver.Supplied by Gruvi
Speaking during a virtual roundtable organized in December by the non-alcoholic beverage association, Sawni explained that shelf space has quickly increased for zero-proof beers, wines and spirits in Canadian stores. As the selection improves in stores and gains traction at restaurants, concert venues and other hospitality locations, these products will become more integrated into people’s lifestyles. (When the zero-proof category was being launched, accessibility was a major challenge. Consumers needed to go online and do research.)
Generation Z were the biggest proponents of Dry January in Canada last year, with 46 per cent abstaining in January or February, the month set aside for an annual fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. Millennials and Generation X’s participation was 20 and 19 per cent respectively, with many more opting for a damp January where they practiced mindful drinking, balancing their alcohol consumption with zero proof alternatives.
The non-alcoholic sector is growing rapidly and is forecast by Global Market Insights to reach US$30 billion in 2025. Non-alcoholic beer drives the category, with increasing interest in zero proof wine and spirits.
The embrace of Dry January has seen a shift in perspective, according to Pauline Idogho, the founder of Mocktail Club, an American producer of ready-to-drink, non-alcoholic cocktails. “There are so many great options out there from beers to cocktails to spirits, the spectrum is there,” she said. “Instead of deprivation, which is how we have looked at Dry January, there’s an opportunity to try all these options.”