How the Drinks List charted sales of low & no beers

Some nine months on, the Drinks List​, which is set to be published in December 2024, will surely show how the category is flourishing.

Data compiled by insights expert CGA by NIQ​ showed Heineken 0.0 was the top seller at pubs, bars and restaurants with volume sales reaching 44,504 hectolitres (HL) – a rise of 19,6% from the previous year’s volume total of 37,205HL.

Meanwhile sales of Heineken’s zero percent alcohol beer was 167% that of its nearest rival, charting sales worth £38.4m – a close to 25% increase on the previous year’s £30.9m.

Five spots gained​

And while Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0 had moved up from seventh best seller to second - knocking Becks LA Alcohol Free (Blue) into third place – the Peroni variant recorded a 396.7% uptick in volume sales and 426.3% hike in value from £2.7m in 2022 to £14.4m in 2023.

Becks LA Alcohol-Free endured a tough year despite taking bronze in the category as volume sales dropped by 30.5% from 10,620HL to 7,378HL while sales of £7.7m represented a 29.3% fall from £10.9m.

Lucky Saint​ rose from eighth place to fourth in 2023 as volume sales enjoyed a huge 177% boost to reach 6,003HL and value leapt 180.3% to £7.4m.

Mammoth hikes​

Birra Moretti Zero clocked up big increases in both volume and value sales while upward progress was more steady for established brands San Miguel 0% and Erdinger Alcololfrei.

The highest increases in both volume and value were from Diageo’s​ Guinness Draught 0.0 stout, which was new entrant to the sphere, reaching eighth spot. The brand saw mammoth hikes of 8526.9% in volume sales from 34HL to 2,950HL, in addition to an 8399.4% rise in value from £0m to £2.5m, with the product only launching for the on-trade at the end of 2022.

The top 10 was rounded off by BrewDog Punk AF and Brooklyn Special Effects, which both recorded mostly flat sales in volume and value.