KAM research manager Charlotte Varney told a conference for the launch of the KAM Low + No 2026 – Drinking Differently report late last month (June 2026) more than a third of pub visits are completely alcohol-free.
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The low & no movement is taking great strides and while soft drinks (48%), tap water (23%) and alcohol-free beer (11%) were the top three considerations for someone wanting a non-alcoholic drink in a pub, bar or restaurant in 2021, those stats have changed significantly by 2026.
The percentage who would opt for soft drinks is still top much 10 percentage points lower now at 38% while a low & no beer has shot up by 18 percentage points to 29% as tap water has declined to 19% - a fall of four percentage points.
Third of pub visits alcohol-free
Varney said: “Over a third of pub visits (33%) are completely alcohol-free and this rises to 45% in restaurants. These are the highest levels we’ve seen since we started tracking this data back in 2020, and certainly something I’ve noticed, showing that alcohol-free occasions are increasingly a core part of the choice that people are making.
“Not only are people drinking alcohol free, they’re mixing up these occasions. So it might not be that you go out for a night as alcohol-free but you might mix it with alcohol as well.”
She added fewer consumers are defaulting to soft drinks and tap water in 2026 and the fall in tap water orders, which had been static around the 23% mark, has fallen to 19%.
KAM noted the tap water market was worth about £800m five years ago so “this drop to 19% shows the hospitality sector has started to claw back some of this opportunity”.
Tight budget
She continued: “Tap water is often mentioned by those on a tight budget and it’s no surprise cost pressures are changing behaviour but when choosing low & no, people are very willing to pay more. They’ll pay more because they think it’s a treat. They want a better taste. They want premium branding or they want craft and a specialist experience, which is fantastic.”
On quality, Varney said KAM’s data showed 70% of UK adults said cost pressures are affecting their choices when drinking out of home but on low & no, 49% will pay more for better taste, 38% will fork out more for a drink that feels like a treat, 29% enjoy premium branding and 28% want craft or specialist production.
Meanwhile, ‘zebra striping’ has continued its meteoric rise with 45% saying they swap between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks – this was 34% in 2025; 30% of those who zebra stripe are doing so more frequently this year with 28% actively planning to start zebra striping.
The act of zebra striping can also increase dwell time at venues with 36% of such drinkers saying they do so to extend their social occasion and moderate their alcohol intake and 62% of UK adults said venues could influence them to zebra stripe more often.
