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Sales of alcohol-free beer Freestar rocket 400% during Dry January
Despite evidence pointing to the idea that fewer people planned to take part in Dry January this year compared with previous years, alcohol-free beer brand Freestar experienced an astonishing uptick in sales during the first week of 2023.
Freestar said it had witnessed a 427% lift in sales in the first week of this year, compared to the first week of 2022.
The alcohol-free beer brand secured a Tesco listing for its Prime Time Lager – a 0.5% ABV lager expression – in December of last year.
Freestar is also available in Ocado and Sainsbury’s stores, and on Amazon.
“At Freestar, we have created the perfect alcohol-free beers for beer lovers, offering delicious beers that mimic the taste of alcohol with great complexity and texture, and we are delighted to have secured such a significant sales increase during what is a key period for us,” co-founder Felix von Hurter commented.
“With increased demand for non-alcoholic beer during Dry January, we hope this sales boost enables us to recruit new drinkers to the category and produce lifetime value to generate repeat purchases in the future.”
Survey results previously reported by the drinks business show that more people were planning to opt for a ‘damp’ January this year – consciously moderating their drinking rather than wholly abstaining.
Data provided to db by online wine giant Vivino found that of 1,844 UK Vivino users, a third said they intended to cut back on alcohol for the month ahead. But only 5% intend to follow Dry January, with many planning to take part in ‘Damp January’ instead.
Perhaps this conscious moderation is still feeding in to sales of alcohol-free and lower-alcohol alternatives as people seek to reset their relationship with alcohol after the indulgent Christmas period.
Fellow alcohol-free beer brand Lucky Saint has also enjoyed good news to kick off 2023, after it announced that it had secured £10 million in funding from investors.
This is by far the largest ever funding round raised by an alcohol-free beer brand in Europe.
Read more:
Lucky Saint sees bumper start to Dry January after securing £10m in funding
What is ‘Damp January’ and does it work?
Can wine compete for a share of the no- and low-alcohol sector?
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