Drinkers are shunning nights in with a bottle of chardonnay or merlot and opting for low-alcohol alternatives, study shows
- Retailer Majestic said fastest growing category is wine with less than 8% alcohol
- The store said its sales of low and no-alcohol wines were up 52% in January
- And nearly a quarter of drinkers aged 18 to 24 are shunning booze altogether
Boozy nights with a potent bottle of wine are on the way out – and low and zero-alcohol alternatives are on the way in.
Drinks retailer Majestic said its fastest growing category is wine with less than 8 per cent alcohol by volume – a typical chardonnay or merlot is 12 or 13 per cent – amid evidence that one in three people are cutting back on booze, largely for health reasons.
The store said its sales of low and no-alcohol wines were up 52 per cent in January compared with the same month last year.
Boozy nights with a potent bottle of wine are on the way out – and low and zero-alcohol alternatives are on the way in
Drinks retailer Majestic said its fastest growing category is wine with less than 8 per cent alcohol by volume
For low and no-alcohol beer, sales were up 312 per cent. Boss John Colley said: ‘There’s a definite sense that customers want to drink better and understand what they’re consuming.’
And nearly a quarter of drinkers aged 18 to 24 are shunning booze altogether, an increase of 6 per cent in a year, the Society of Independent Brewers said, driving sales of more virtuous beers.
Analysts say low and no-alcohol beer will grow from a 2 per cent market share to 6 per cent over the next five years.