Why alcohol-free wine is in the ascendant
Relative to 0% beer, the alcohol-free wine market is small in the UK, but that is set to change, as better products and high-profile celebrities enter the market.
That’s the view of Paul Schaafsma of Benchmark Drinks, who sees the no-alcohol wine sector as a “huge opportunity”, as long as it’s backed by the right people and the drinks taste good.
And it was during a discussion with db last month that he outlined his view of the category, not only giving an opinion on how big it could be, but what will drive it forwards.
“Zero per cent is one of the biggest trends in drinks, but one of the biggest challenges for 0% wine is the way it tastes – it’s all pretty ordinary,” he said, before commenting, “If you try many of the options out there, you will see that they are letting the consumer down.”
Continuing, he drew attention to the sales opportunity by recording the relatively lacklustre performance of no-alcohol wine compared to beer. “0% beer is 5% of the beer category, but 0% wine is only 0.8% of the wine category, so, if we can grow that to 5%, we’re talking about a £400 million business in the UK.”
Much of zero-alcohol beer’s success is due to a long-standing focus on ensuring it tastes as good as possible, according to Schaafsma, who mentioned in particular the quality and resulting sales performance of Guiness 0.0%.
As reported by db at the start of this year, global volumes of the non-alcoholic Guinness doubled in the second half of 2023, meaning that it now makes up 4% of the stout’s output at the St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin.
As for who might be drinking 0% wines, Schaafsma stressed that the demand could come from a broad range of sources. “When we were young, you either drunk or you didn’t, but now the younger generation switches between the two [alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks] – and in beer and spirits, the 0% alternative is now so good, people feel comfortable with it.”
A few facts on zero-alcohol drinks trends in the UK
- With 17% growth year on year, zero-alcohol sparking is the fastest growing category in wine in the UK
- One in three pub visits in the UK are now alcohol-free
- 2.6 million fewer UK adults are drinking alcohol weekly in 2024 compared to 2021
- 42% of no/low consumers do not drink full-strength alcohol
- The remaining 58% are ‘moderators’
- The majority are ‘substituters’ for certain occasions, however some ‘blend’ on the same occasion
Source: Paul Schaafsma, Benchmark Drinks
Taken from The Drinks Business