The Morning Advertiser (The MA) made its way to London to meet up with some of the best operators and those in the know to find out what’s going on in the sector.
We met up with Tim Skinner who is the licensee at the Devonshire Arms, Marylebone, and also runs other sites.
Skinner, who runs the Star Pubs site on Duke Street, told The MA the pub was one of the first to get Heineken 0.0 on draught about two years and that sales are “going fantastically”.
The pub offers a range of low & no products such as Heineken 0.0 and Birra Moretti 0.0 in bottles, two variants of Old Mout 0.0 and Guinness 0.0 in cans. There are also non-alcoholic spirits and an alcohol-free prosecco.
“The figures say [low & no] Is one of the biggest growth areas and we are certainly seeing that across the bar,” he said and added long gone are the days when a customer was quizzed about why they choose a beer without alcohol.
Club Soda founder and low & no drinks expert Laura Willoughby MBE spoke to The MA at the Lucky Saint pub and said the goals is for low & no drinks to be available, visible and celebrated across every place one could wish to have a drink.
She said: “There’s always work to do and beer was and continues to lead the pack but wine is where we are seeing the biggest improvements right now.”
She added red wine, which has been notoriously difficult in terms of making a low & no version acceptable is winning awards currently for the strides it has made.
Forward momentum
On wine, Vagabond head of drinks Freddie Cobb said there is definitely forward momentum on low & no drinks. In 2019, it was mostly soft drinks but demand has grown so the range has become stronger over the years.
The business, which has 12 sites across the capital serving about 100 wines by the glass and self-pour options too, is seeing mainly 25 to 35-year-old females leading the charge at its bars.
On low & no, Cobb said: “It’s a very exciting category. It’s come on leaps and bounds in the past 15 to 20 years. In Europe you see a wash of blue labels in a supermarket if low & no options and we’re catching up with that and have taken over with some products.”
Back at the Lucky Saint, assistant general manager Nate Roberts explained the pub is a 50:50 split between alcoholic and low & no alcohol drinks – there is food available too.
Roberts said the low & no drinker is likely to be the one who is planning a night out in hospitality and after-work drinkers are beginning to moderate their intake as well, which is proving useful for the site on Devonshire Street, Marylebone.
He concluded as the demographic broadens, more categories will be opened up with more products are being developed and that means more cocktails, more lower alcohol wines and so on will allow bartenders and pubs to play with products and the offerings in low & no are only going to expand.
Finally, the Guinea Grill general manager Cristiano Pellizzari talked about the food and drink offer at the Bruton Place, Mayfair, pub.
On Guinness 0.0, which is only available on draught at a handful of pubs in London, he said: “We’ve had it a year and it’s going well. There was a lot of interest in it especially at the start and it sells every day. It’s well-known and the people enjoy it.”
The pub - run by London pubco Young’s – also serves Lucky Saint, Peroni 0.0 and Erdinger.
Low & no attracting all ages
Meanwhile, Heineken UK on-trade director Will Rice has told The MA : “We have seen a growth across all our low & no alcohol variants, due to the wider consumer growth in moderation.
“This year is a huge year of sport, with the Fifa World Cup hitting our screens come June. To capitalise on the opportunity that this presents, bar operators can look to ensure their drinks range is ready for the rise in demand ahead of matches and, with a growing number of consumers moderating throughout the year, low & no options should be part of this consideration.”
He stated 10.9% of on-trade customers now opt for low & no alternatives when dining or drinking out. Over the past year, the sector has reached £222.3m in sales, driven largely by beer and cider, which have grown by 48% and now represent 89% of the total value.
“Engagement in low & no is growing across all age groups, as consumers look to balance out drinking sessions with moderation. We are seeing the most engagement among younger drinkers, with 15% of 18 to 24-year-olds more likely to choose one when drinking out of home.”
