05 February 2024 , 09:09
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Lucky Saint, the UK's largest dedicated alcohol-free beer brand, has reported a festive sales boost.
The company's boss revealed that more drinkers are choosing to have a pint on "new occasions", not just during Dry January. Emma Heal, the Managing Director, said the growth in non-alcoholic options has led to customers drinking beer on more occasions. "We are growing as the whole market is growing" she stated.
She explained that it's not just traditional beer drinkers swapping for non-alcoholic versions. She added: "People are finding new times to enjoy a drink and sometimes switch between alcohol-free and alcoholic beverages. I think that's why we had a strong December."
She noted that people were happy to drink an alcoholic beer one moment while with friends but enjoy an alcohol-free beer on another occassion. She said the company has seen an increase in people choosing to drink non-alcoholic beer on week nights and during the daytime.
This trend has resulted in Lucky Saint lager being included in supermarket meal deal offers. The company reported that December last year was their largest sales month on record up to that point, with a steady rise in demand for the brand.
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They also highlighted a particularly strong Christmas period, with sales up 158% for the week prior to Christmas in 2023 compared to the same week a year earlier. The brand is excited because more people are choosing both boozy and non-boozy drinks during parties.
Ms Heal said there's loads of space for the market to get bigger. She said: "In the UK, the amount of non-alcoholic beer being bought is still significantly below levels elsewhere in Europe.
"In supermarkets, 6% of beer packs sold were no and low in January and we can see that growing towards 10%. And we are seeing a lot of growth potential in pubs too."
They've seen a big boost where they've introduced their draught beers to pubs. New research from the company shows that Brits are changing how they drink, especially when they're out.
It turns out that nearly two-thirds, or 62%, of people in Britain are okay with going to the pub and not drinking alcohol. But the study also showed that women, at 69%, are more okay with this than men, who are at 56%.
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