Catering for Dry January and Beyond

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How to adapt to the rise of low/no alcohol drinks

It’s officially January, and more consumers than ever are cutting back on excess sugar, fatty foods and alcohol in the name of health.

‘Dry January’ is continuing to grow in popularity, but it’s not just the New Year where people are pulling back on their drinking, new research suggests. 49% of young adults are now ‘sober curious’, choosing low and no alcohol options when eating and drinking out, a figure that has almost doubled since 2018. Overall, 38% of all adults are now consuming alternatives instead of alcoholic beverages, especially over 65s, women, and higher income consumers.

As consumers are exposed to more health information online, the boom in health and wellness has undoubtedly had a large impact on the alcohol industry, as people look to reduce and moderate their drinking to improve their health. Other factors such as dining and drinking trends after the pandemic and increased financial pressure on consumers are also fuelling the growth of low and no alcohol drinks consumption.

A boom in alcohol-free alternatives

As more consumers move away from wine, beer and spirits, there has been an explosion in popularity for low/no-alcoholic brands. Since 2020, there has been a 47% increase in segment growth for non-alcoholic drinks, with 0% brands like Lucky Saint beer, Seedlip gin and Oddbird wine making serious waves in the industry.

Alternative soft drinks marketed at adults, such as kombucha, flavoured waters, electrolytes, CBD infused drinks and juices are also experiencing a boom, with market growth of 3% expected in 2026, generating around £1 billion in the UK.

Not only are independent low/no-alcohol brands thriving, but most traditional alcohol companies are also diversifying their offerings to cater for changing tastes, with household names such as Guiness, Tanqueray gin, Peroni and Gallo wines launching successful low or 0% alcohol alternatives.

So, how can hospitality businesses cater to changing tastes and habits?

Getting creative with drinks menus

Customers’ expectations are changing and now soft drinks are becoming just as much as an experience as an alcoholic beverage when dining out. Think carefully about your low and no alcoholic menus and try to include a broad range to cater for every customer; soft drinks for those looking for a total alternative, plus good quality 0% beer and wines for those wanting a more ‘authentic’ experience.

Get creative with mocktail menus and consult your chefs to create food pairings, to make them a main event, as you would for cocktails or wine. By creating exciting alcohol alternatives, your business will not only cater for regular non-drinking customers, but it may also encourage a new customer-base for your business.

The importance of staff training

Just as many restaurants have sommeliers to create a unique and special drinks experience, consider educating your staff on your business’ non-alcoholic options, to provide a similar experience by guiding your guests to make the best choices.

Offering more choice and information will not only cater for the growing crowd of non-drinkers by providing them with an excellent customer experience, but it could also encourage customers to splash out a little more on high-end alcohol-free alternatives, rather than a regular soft drink with low profit margins.

How technology can help

With hospitality technology, like Kitchen CUT, businesses can easily adapt their menus with the touch of a button. Whether it’s adding allergens to stay transparent with customers, swapping in new soft drinks or adding mocktails to your drink’s menus, digital menus take the time and stress away from your staff and reduce the administrative burden of constant menu updates. Tweak photos, ingredients and descriptions and rearrange your menus in seconds, to make your most profitable and popular drinks the stars, to boost sales and increase profits.

With menu engineering technology, businesses can compare what drinks are generating the best profits, which are most popular and what soft drinks need tweaking or removing from their menu. Monitor drinking trends and analyse how well your 0% options are performing next to your traditional alcohol offerings with cutting-edge business intelligence reporting to ensure your business is operating efficiently.

To conclude

While alcoholic drinks still play a prominent role within the hospitality industry, businesses would be missing out if they didn’t begin to adapt to the noticeable shift in drinking habits.

As customers move away from regular drinking, and a growing percentage look to moderate their alcohol in-take, hospitality businesses can take advantage of the booming soft drinks market to cater for this growth in demand, and at the same time, see an increase in their profits.