Heineken UK head of on-trade category Serena Smith said there is a huge opportunity for pubs to motivate moderating consumers to visit despite 31% of consumers say they have left a venue early and/or disappointed due to a lack of low and no alcohol drinks (source: KAM Low+No Drinking Differently 2024).
Smith also looked at some key trends to help publicans unlock this opportunity in 2026.
Low & no alcohol drinks have escaped their niche season in January and become an accepted part of social occasions and seasons. Consumption peaks in December as well as January now, for example, and enjoys a further spike in the summer during pub garden season.
This means a pub or bar must stock a selection of low & no alcohol drinks all year round and ensure they are visible and merchandised as heavily in July as they would be in January.
There has also been a noticeable shift in on-trade spend to earlier day parts as late night opportunities decline. With mid-afternoon visits up 1.5% year on year in UK pubs and more operators developing their offer for breakfast and midweek lunch there are growing no-alcohol occasions in UK pubs.
Default to tap water
Smith explained that, according to the KAM Low+No Drinking Differently 2025 report, 24% of customers in the UK still default to tap water when they are not drinking alcohol while in hospitality venues.
Driving awareness of no-alcohol options and positioning them as great choices during these early day parts is a fantastic opportunity to add revenue where the previously was none.
Low & no beer continues to grow in the on-trade, posting an increase of 36.9% in value (source: CGA BY NIQ, OPM GB Latest MAT 29/11/25), as a growing number of consumers are looking to moderate their alcohol consumption.
Smith said: “Low & no beer breached 2% category share for the first time last January. Meeting the demand of more mindful drinkers is one of the big opportunities for the UK on-trade to continue to grow beer sales.
“Despite the beer category already growing 3.5% over the last 12 months (source: CGA BY NIQ, OPM GB MAT 29/11/25), there is room for it to grow further.”
She added the majority of consumers have already decided the type of drink and format they are planning to order before they even get to a venue and research by Heineken UK found customers are still programmed to look at fonts first when approaching the bar.
Don’t have to compromise
“Stocking a low & no alcohol beer on draught caters to the most popular format for LAD (long alcoholic drink) sales meaning those drinkers don’t have to compromise and still feel like part of the group when moderating,” Smith said.
The business expects Heineken 0.0 to hit 2,000 draught taps in the UK this year with a further 700 pubs using the Blade system to serve the drinks, which is more suitable for those venues with a lower throughput.
The rise of ‘zebra striping’ points to a shift towards more mindful drinking rather than total abstinence, Smith added.
“It’s clear many consumers still want the full pub experience, just with more balance. These conditions reflect a sizeable opportunity for operators to drive growth through low-alcohol sales as well as no-alcohol drink sales.
“In fact, research from KAM highlights a growing consumer shift towards this category – 50 % of UK consumers say they would rather have two mid-strength drinks than one full-strength option when opting for ‘just one’ at the pub.”
She also highlighted products such as Beavertown Satellite 2.8% ABV Super Session IPA as one that can help operators meet this growing consumer demand.
