Low and no ‘remains a significant untapped opportunity’

15-Jun-2021 - Last updated on 15-Jun-2021 at 08:57 GMT

Category experimentation: ‘We have seen some really innovative examples of retailers and operators within other channels really getting behind the category and offering a comprehensive range that drives interest,’ Blonnie Whist of Lumina Intelligence said

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The biggest barriers to buying low and no alcohol drinks are they are considered too expensive, poor value for money and some consumers have been unable to find them, according to new data.

According to the Lumina Intelligence Low2No Alcohol Report 2021, the main barrier preventing consumers purchasing the low and no alcohol category are they are too expensive (16%).

What’s more, other reasons given by the 1,000 respondents to Lumina’s serve included the fact low ABV serves are seen as poor value for money (14%), customers do not believe in the health benefits (11%), products simply weren’t seen behind the bar or on menus (11%) and customers can’t always find what they’re looking for.

Sales driver

According to the research, the top motivation for purchasing a low or no alcohol product when in a pub, bar or restaurant is if a customer is driving – with almost one-in-five (19%) respondents citing this as the reason for ordering.

The other top five motivations driving low and no drinking also included a product looking appealing (8%), a drink being part of a promotion (6%), and a consumer seeking either fewer calories (6%) or attempting to avoid a hangover (6%).

‘Tremendous growth’

While supermarkets are key for driving the category, according to Lumina – both as the most common place that consumers first purchase the category and also as the main channel used by those purchasing the category frequently – one-in-ten (10%) of those surveyed regularly purchase low and no alcohol drinks in a pub.

“The low to no category continues to see tremendous growth, with supermarkets playing a pivotal role in driving awareness of the category as the most common place for the first purchase,” Blonnie Whist, insight director at Lumina Intelligence said of the results.

“We have seen some really innovative examples of retailers and operators within other channels really getting behind the category and offering a comprehensive range that drives interest in low to no, however it is clear that there remains a significant untapped opportunity.

“Price and visibility remain the main barriers to consumers purchasing more low to no products,” she added. “The category continues to evolve with exciting new product development regularly hitting the market, however retailers and operators need to play their role by making the category as visible as possible on shelves in-store, behind bars and on menus.”