Tesco has confirmed that ‘Dry January’ created soaring demand for no and low alcohol beer, wine and spirits.
The news follows a year of record sales of such drinks at the supermarket as more people cut back on their alcohol consumption. This was especially pronounced over the four-week Christmas period, which saw demand up by nearly 15%.
During Dry January, no and low spirits were the winner at Tesco with demand up by nearly 40% on the same period last year. The most popular ‘spirit’ was No/Low alcohol gin, Tanqueray 0%, with sales up by nearly 200%.
In beer and cider, the volume of cans and bottles of no and low alcohol grew by more than 15%. Trends this year saw people moving into no and low craft beer types such as Lucky Saint Hazy IPA and BrewDog Hazy Jane AF, as well as Thatcher’s Zero cider.
Meanwhile, sales of no and low alcohol wine grew by nearly 20% in January versus last year, with favourites including Kylie Minogue’s 0% Sparkling Rosé. It launched in Tesco in late 2022 and has now become the UK’s top-selling premium alcohol-free wine, with sales at the supermarket up by nearly 75% during Dry January.
Ben Cole, Tesco’s Beer, Wines and Spirits Category Planning Manager, commented: “More and more customers want to be able to enjoy the social aspect of having a drink without the alcohol, but still want a quality wine, beer or spirit drinking experience.
“With the increasing quality of ‘No and Low’ alcohol products, we are seeing a significant growth in this area with this January recording our highest ever customer demand and following hard on the heels of a record-breaking Christmas.”
