Non-alcoholic beer sales on the rise

European consumers are getting a taste for non-alcoholic beer, with research from Mintel showing increasing demand across the continent.

Analysing six key European consumer markets in 2013, 60% of Spanish beer buyers were found to have purchased a non-alcoholic beer, the highest of any market, rising to 69% among consumers aged 45 to 54.

Nearly half of German beer drinkers (47%) purchased non-alcoholic beer in 2013 with the category accounting for almost one in five (19%) beer launches, comparing to only one in 10 launches (11%) in 2012.

In Italy one in three (29%) consumers had purchased non-alcoholic beer followed by 26% of Polish consumers, 18% of French consumers and 14% of Brits.

In Britain, this figure rose to 26% among 18 to 34-year-olds, indicating an emerging preference for lower alcohol beer.

Jonny Forsyth, global drinks analyst at Mintel, said: “Non alcoholic beer has huge long-term sales potential, both in Muslim-dominated regions and health-conscious but beer-loving Western markets. This is an area of innovation which all major brewers should be focusing on – as consumers want reassurance of product quality, something trusted brands can provide.”

“The greatest influence on recent NAB sales is their improved taste. Whilst NABs were pushed heavily in the late-1990s and early 2000s, this failed to translate into global sales because the product was widely viewed as inferior. This meant people preferred to drink a soft drink if they were not drinking alcohol, rather than a poor imitation of beer. Yet, the modern varieties – especially in Germany – are much closer to the taste of full alcohol beer and make an ideal adult or premium ‘soft drink’ option. This taste improvement has largely been due to the refinement of the production process.”

Research showed that the taste for non-alcohol beer was, overall, strongest among older consumers and women. Indeed, 63% of Spanish and 50% of German female beer buyers have bought NAB in the past six months, compared to 57% and 46% of male beer buyers respectively. Additionally, 62% of Spanish and 49% of German beer buyers aged 55+ bought a NAB in 2013, compared to 51% and 42% of consumers aged 18-24 respectively.

Despite growing sales of non-alcoholic beer, new product launches accounted for just 3% of all global beer launch activity so far in 2014, less than the 4% in 2011 and significantly less than the 10% in 1999.