Non-alcoholic segment is on the up: 1 in 5 buys non-alcoholic alternatives

Friday, January 27, 2023

The start of the year is traditionally the time of good resolutions. For many people, that means abstaining from alcohol for an entire month with Dry January or Tournée Minérale. Figures from Colruyt Lowest Prices show that consumers are increasingly conscious of their alcohol consumption throughout the whole year, rather than peaking during January and February. 1 in 5 customers occasionally buy a non-alcoholic alternative. Non-alcoholic beers come out on top, followed by non-alcoholic aperitifs and spirits. To meet the rising consumer demand, Colruyt Lowest Prices is expanding its range of non-alcoholic alternatives to nearly 100 products.

Colruyt Lowest Prices sees the volume of non-alcoholic beverages increase year after year, a rise that has even been more pronounced in recent years. Or might this be related to initiatives such as Dry January and Tournée Minérale? Colruyt does indeed record higher sales during those months, but sales of non-alcoholic beverages mainly peak during the summer period and the holidays. Clearly, non-alcoholic drinks have become part of the Belgians' lifestyle.

Today, 1 in 5 customers buy a non-alcoholic alternative every now and then. Beer is most popular among customers buying a non-alcoholic beverage: when Colruyt looks at the number of litres of non-alcoholic alternatives sold, 7 out of every 10 litres is non-alcoholic beer. Pilsner is the most popular, which is also the case in the regular-strength beer segment.

Second place goes to non-alcoholic aperitifs and spirits. This category is also the strongest grower in terms of volume. Colruyt has registered an increase by more than 50% in volume since pre-covid. When looking at the ratio between the sale of alcoholic beverages and that of alternatives, we see that the proportion of non-alcoholic alternatives is highest among aperitifs and spirits. Drinks that sell particularly well here are ready-made mocktails such as mojito, margarita or piña colada. Non-alcoholic rum, amaretto and gin are also booming. Another product that is being liked by Colruyt customers are syrups for making mocktails.

Sparkling wines are also doing particularly well. Colruyt is recording strong volume growth for non-alcoholic sparkling wines, especially in the month of January of this year. Colruyt already expanded the range in recent years and will continue to do so: three bubbly rosé wines will be added to the range, as well as 20-cl bottles of sparkling wine. Another remarkable development: Gran Baron 0% will soon be available on the shelves in cans. With those last two products, Colruyt taps into the trend of 'convenience'. Still non-alcoholic wines in 20-cl bottles will also be added to the range.

In 2023, Colruyt Lowest Prices will expand its range by another 35 new products, thus offering a broad range of nearly 100 non-alcoholic alternatives to its customers. In this way, the retailer responds to the consumers' growing focus on a healthy lifestyle and increased awareness of alcohol consumption by offering a qualitative and tasteful range of alternatives.