67% of sector chiefs say low & no will be key trend

The figure dwarfs every other potential drinks offer suggested by operators by almost double, with the next being cocktails at 35%, according to the CGA Business Leaders Survey 2024.

However, with health and moderation gaining popularity, other possible trends include virgin cocktails (35%), low & no sugar (33%) and wellness drinks (29%).

Growth in all categories​

Completing the top half of the predicted trends list from most likely to least likely is world lager (31%), artisan coffee (29%), craft beer (27%) and bottomless brunch (23%).

The bottom half of the list ranks tequila, stout and British wine by 21% for each category according to survey respondents, followed by sparkling wine (19%), draught cocktails (17%), rum (17%), aperitif/spritz drinks (17%), micro-distillery spirits (15%) and premium mixers (13%).

To further demonstrate the ascension of low & no, statistics from insight expert CGA’s OPM data in February 2024 showed all major drinks categories are seeing growth in low & no alcohol, which it said is way ahead of the wider categories’ performance – albeit from a low base.

Cider sales boom​

The growth in volume sales of low & no cider rose by 63% versus a year prior even though it only represented 1% of the total volume (up 0.4 percentage points versus the previous year).

Volumes sales climbed by 33% in the beer category for low & no to reach 0.8% of total beer sales (up 0.2 percentage points versus previous year) while wine/Champagne sales were boosted by 28% to reach 0.1% of total wine (up 0.02 percentage points versus the previous year).

Spirit sales climbed too in low & no but only by 6% to reach 0.2% of total spirits, this represented a 0.03% percentage point boost against the previous year.