Health-conscious young consumers driving growth of non-alcoholic beer
Alcohol-free beer is gaining in popularity in the UK, according to new research from AB InBev UK.
Some 31% of us have now tried alcohol-free beer, and 19% of us cannot taste any difference between it and regular alcoholic beer, the survey found.
For those consumers looking to cut back on or eliminate alcohol consumption in January, 34% will be turning to alcohol-free beer, up from 20% last year.
Among millenials, 21% are likely to drink it this month, up 10% on 2014.
This is in line with a trend towards more healthy lifestyles among the young, with 41% of those aged 18 to 19 actively trying to cut back on their alcohol consumption.
One in ten women drink alcohol-free beer on a weekly basis.
Londoners are more likely to consume alcohol-free beer than any other UK city.
AB InBev is committed to ensuring that at least 20% of its global beer volume will be either lower-alcohol or alcohol-free by the end of the decade.
Its Beck’s Blue brand is the market leading alcohol-free beer, with a 58% share of the category, which itself is growing 5% year on year.
Last year, Beck’s Blue grew 15% in the off-trade and 10% in the on-trade.
Anna Tolley, legal and corporate affairs director at AB InBev UK and Ireland, said: “It’s great to see the growing popularity of alcohol-free beer among the UK public – especially millennials.
Offering consumers choice is an important part of our commitment to responsible drinking and we are proud to brew Beck’s Blue, the market leading alcohol-free beer.”
The survey was conducted by market research agency Opinium on behalf of AB InBev.
Opinium interviewed 2,003 UK adults between December 4 and 8, 2015.
