Once but a sliver of the global beverage alcohol market, no- and low-alcohol beer/cider, wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink (RTD) products grew by more than +6% in volume in 10 key global focus markets in 2021, and now command a 3.5% volume share of the industry, according to a new study published by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.
According to the new IWSR research, 43% of adults across the focus markets
who have purchased no- and low-alcohol beverages say they are substituting those products in place of full-strength alcohol for certain occasions, rather than abstaining from alcohol overall. The majority of no/low drinkers also enjoy standard strength alcohol too – only 17% of people report they are drinking no/low to avoid alcohol completely. The country with the largest proportion of alcohol abstainers is the
US, with 23% of no/low drinkers avoiding alcohol completely.
Among adults who have purchased no/low alcohol, 37% of people say the reason for doing so is to avoid the effects of drinking alcohol. A third of drinkers buy no/low alcohol because they enjoy the taste.
Among the 10 focus markets examined in the 2022 IWSR No- and Low-Alcohol Strategic Study (Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the market value of no/low alcohol in 2021 was just under US$10 billion, up from $7.8 billion in 2018. IWSR forecasts that no- and low-alcohol volume will grow by 8% compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) between 2021 and 2025, compared to regular alcohol volume growth of +0.7% CAGR during that same period.
“While January has become a popular month for people to cut back or abstain from alcohol, interest in no- and low-alcohol drinks has increasingly become a year-round trend among consumers across the world,” says Emily Neill, COO of IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. “To meet that demand, beverage alcohol companies have invested heavily to introduce a number of innovative new products, and many established mainstream brands have recently crossed over to develop no/low alcohol versions of their popular beer, wines, and spirits.”
No-Alcohol is the Growth Driver over Low-Alcohol
Beer/cider is the largest no/low category (at 75% volume share), with no-alcohol beer projected to drive growth at more than +11% CAGR over the study’s 2021-2025 forecast period. No-alcohol RTDs and noalcohol spirits are both expected to post about +14% CAGR volume growth. The wine category is the exception, as the taste of low-alcohol wine is perceived by many consumers to be superior to that of noalcohol
wine. Low-alcohol wine is expected to grow almost +20% CAGR 2021-2025, vs. no-alcohol wine projected at +9% CAGR.
Germany dominates the no- and low-alcohol products in terms of volume. The amount of no- and low-alcohol products in Germany is more than three times that of the next-largest no/low market, Spain. Both Germany and Spain clocked volume increases of about +2% in 2021, while the US grew by +31% and the UK by +17%. Total volume of no/low products in Japan registered a small decline (-1%) last year.
Among adults who have purchased no/low alcohol, 37% of people say the reason for doing so is to avoid the effects of drinking alcohol. A third of drinkers buy no/low alcohol because they enjoy the taste.
“The no/low alcohol market is still very much in its early growth stage in many categories and geographies, as the sector continues to define itself,” adds Neill. “Brands that will ultimately dominate in the no/low space are those that are successful in navigating the barriers of taste, price, pack format, availability, and overall consumer education.”