“Going to the pub” doesn’t offer up the same boozy connotation as it used to, as new research by the hospitality research group KAM highlights.
Per The Times, a new study shows that 29 percent of visits to British pubs are now “dry” visits, while 37 percent of restaurant trips also do not involve alcohol. Additionally, 55 percent of UK adults are trying to cut down alcohol consumption, and 72 percent have tried a low- or no-alcohol drink.
The new report is a collaboration with the no-booze beer brand Lucky Saint, so do take that into consideration. Still, that brand’s CEO, Luke Boase, thinks the new research points to a larger no/low drinking trend amongst bar patrons in several countries. “The likes of Spain, France and Germany all have at least five times the market share for low and no (alcohol) options compared to the UK,” he says, per the Daily Mail.
One thing of note is that these numbers do seem to suggest that it’s people who actually drink alcohol who are leading the trend toward lighter (or alcohol-free) options.
“The growth in popularity of the alcohol-free category isn’t primarily driven by those who never drink alcohol, but rather the huge number of Brits who simply want to moderate their intake and are looking for a great-tasting alternative,” Katy Moses, KAM’s managing director, says. The research firm also notes that the trend toward no- and low-alcohol options is showing “exponential growth” in the three years since the studies launched.
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