Diageo is to plough a further €30m (£25m) into its St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin to double production capacity for Guinness 0.0.
It means Diageo will now be able to produce the equivalent of 176 million pints of Guinness 0.0 a year for domestic and international markets.
The investment underpinned “Diageo’s commitment to Guinness 0.0 and the growth of the non-alcoholic category more broadly”, said the brewer.
It will take the total invested by Diageo in production of the non-alcoholic stout to over €60m since its launch three years ago.
“Today’s investment is further evidence of our commitment to Guinness 0.0 and underpins the bright future we see for the non-alc category,” said Aidan Crowe, beer operations director at Diageo. “It will allow us to double our capacity for Guinness 0.0 and meet the ever-growing demand from consumers as they move towards moderation and look for more choice when it comes to great-tasting, premium non-alcohol products.”
Alongside the announcement, Diageo said it would continue to grow the availability of Guinness 0.0% on draught. So far, just a handful of UK venues are participating in a trial of the non-alcoholic stout on tap.
However, 1,700 pubs across Ireland are already stocking the product, a number Diageo said would increase to 2,000 by Christmas to reflect demand that was “increasing exponentially”.
Guinness 0.0 overtook Heineken 0.0 to become the bestselling alcohol-free beer in the UK off-trade in March.
The brand has grown by an impressive 110% in the past year and is now worth £33.2m [NIQ 52 w/e 13 July 2024].
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