More people than ever are drinking low & no-alcohol alternatives, according to a study by The Portman Group conducted by YouGov.
Over a third of UK drinkers (38%) said they were now consuming low & no products “semi-regularly” – up from 35% in 2023 and 29% in 2022 – the survey of over 2,000 adults of legal drinking age revealed.
Younger adults were still the biggest consumers of low & no, with close to half (46%) of 25 to 34-year-olds surveyed considering themselves either an occasional or regular drinker of alcohol alternatives, compared with 37% in 2023.
Some 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds also said they drunk these products semi-regularly.
The younger generation also continued to be the most sober age group overall, with 39% of 18 to 24-year-olds stating they did not drink alcohol at all.
The results continued “to highlight the positive impact of low & no-alcohol alternatives in helping people to moderate their drinking”, said The Portman Group. It pointed to survey data showing almost a quarter (24%) of alcohol drinkers had reduced their intake because of low & no-alcohol products.
Health was also a key motivating factor for moderating, with 29% of low & no drinkers citing collective ‘health and medical’ concerns as a key reason for choosing these products.
“It’s fantastic to see low & no alternatives continuing to soar in popularity, while helping to encourage more mindful and moderate consumption among UK alcohol drinkers,” said The Portman Group CEO Matt Lambert.
He added: “We welcome the drinks and hospitality industry continuing to work together to increase choice, availability and visibility of low & no-alcohol alternatives, and we continue to urge the UK government to provide us with the outcome of the recent consultation on low-alcohol descriptors which will further facilitate growth of the UK low & no-alcohol market.”
It comes after an Ipsos survey of nearly 12,000 adults across the UK, US, Spain, Japan and Brazil found 68% of consumers had tried low & no-alcohol alternatives, while 80% thought drinking them was more acceptable than it was five years ago.
However, among respondents that reported drinking alcohol at least once or twice a year, over half (51%) said they ended up drinking alcohol when they said they wouldn’t.
Gen Z adults reported experiencing the highest levels of societal expectations around alcohol consumption. More than one in three said they had felt pressure to drink in some social situations.
Meanwhile, one in five (21%) of Gen Z said they had concealed drinking low & no-alcohol versions of alcoholic beverages because of social pressures.
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