Sainsbury’s branch refuses to uphold offer on non-alcoholic beer

Sainsbury’s has refused to honour a beer discount deal in Scotland because of multi-buy laws, despite the fact the promoted product is alcohol-free.

Credit Erdinger Weissbräu

As reported by the Daily Record, a Sainsbury’s in Scotland refused to uphold an offer on beer which they said was applicable to England only, even on a specialist German what beer which has less than 0.5% ABV.

The supermarket chain had advertised a 25 per cent reduction on purchases of six or more bottles of a specialist German wheat beer. But the multi-buy offer for Erdinger Alkoholfrei was not available in Scotland.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of campaigning group Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: “Neither the legislation around minimum unit pricing nor multi-buy discounts apply here. Any product 0.5% ABV and below is not subject to licensing laws in Scotland. This sounds like a misunderstanding by the retailer.”

There was a “buy six, save 25 per cent” offer for Erdinger Alkoholfrei on Sainsbury’s website.

The beer costs £1.20 for 500ml. But when the newspaper’s reporters tried to purchase six bottles, staff explained the reduction was for “England only”. They claimed this was due to licensing laws in Scotland, which include a ban on multi-buy promotions.

The Scottish Government introduced multi-buy legislation in 2011 – and minimum pricing of 50p per unit in May last year – in a bid to cut alcohol consumption.

Douglas added: “Low and no-alcohol products are good alternatives for anyone wanting to avoid alcohol or to cut back on what they are drinking.

Any reduction to how much alcohol we are consuming in Scotland is a step in the right direction.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson told the Daily Record: “We don’t offer multi-buys in Scotland for any products which contain alcohol and Erdinger Alkoholfrei lager is no exception. We are sorry for any disappointment this may cause.” The drinks business have reached out to Sainsbury’s for further comment.

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is brewed under the strict Bavarian Purity Law. The drink is not alcohol free for the purposes of UK Food Law. According to the Sainsbury’s website, the alcohol by volume is 0.4%, while the alcoholic content is 0.2 units.

Ordering a non-alcoholic or low-strength beer is now starting to become the norm in the UK, according to new research.

More than half of Brits who took part in a OnePoll survey funded by beer giant Carlsberg said they have at least tried a non-alcoholic beverage, while 52% also said that non-alcoholic beers have become more socially acceptable in the past two years.

the drinks business has contacted Sainsbury’s for further comment.