BRAND BUZZ W RITTE N B Y D AV I D S CH U E MAN N
RISE OF LOW- & NO-ALCOHOL SPIRITS
THE
A $4 BILLION BANDWAGON O
ver the past two years, there has been an explosion of lowand no-alcohol spirits. International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR) estimates a +4 percent volume compound annual growth rate for low- and no-alcohol products from now until 2028.
DRIVERS OF LOW- AND NO-ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION A December 2024 survey by NCSolutions, a CPG1 marketing research and advertising company, found that 49 percent of Americans aim to reduce their alcohol consumption in 2025, an increase from 44 percent in 2023. In 2024, 25 percent of Americans did not drink at all. While moderating and abstaining from alcohol are not new concepts, some additional factors are contributing to the current trend:
▶ POST-COVID DROP-OFF : A study by Keck Medicine of USC2
estimated that Americans’ alcohol use increased by 20 percent during the 2020 pandemic and remained at elevated levels into 2022. This rapid and dramatic increase in consumption led to record sales in the alcohol industry — numbers some assumed were the new normal — but as the population returned to “real life,” some consumers considerably dialed back their alcohol intake.
▶ PREVALENCE OF WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS : As of 2024, 13
percent of Americans had used GLP-1 weight loss drugs such as Ozempic,3 and a 2025 AP News report4 shows that half of Americans approve of using these drugs — meaning that usage is likely to increase. These drugs suppress appetite and have been linked to making drinking alcohol less appealing.
1
https://ncsolutions.com/the-goods/sober-curious-nation-alcohol-survey/
2 https://news.keckmedicine.org/pandemic-era-increase-in-alcohol-use-persists/
▶ DESIRE TO BE HEALTHIER : According to Statista,5 the No. 2, 3,
and 4 most popular New Year’s resolutions for 2025 in the U.S. are all aligned with becoming healthier. This reduction in alcohol consumption for health reasons is not limited to a singular generation. According to NCSolutions, 58 percent of Gen Z cited mental health, and 48 percent of Baby Boomers cited weight loss as their reasons to abstain from alcohol.
▶ AGING : According to the National Institute on Aging (2022),6 as
adults grow older, alcohol can lead to more complications, which is why they recommend older adults lower or stop their alcohol consumption. It can interact with medications and exacerbate existing health conditions. Additionally, older adults can become more sensitive to the effects of alcohol, potentially leading to accidents, injuries, or changes in mental health.
According to IWSR, the no-alcohol sector is expected to grow to more than $4 billion by 2028. This is a ripe opportunity and a potential new income stream for distillers. NCSolutions found that 20 percent of people who tried a non-alcoholic drink chose it just because they liked the way it looked. The big branding question you need to answer before moving forward with a low- or no-alcohol product is: What should the packaging look like? The short answer is: Differentiated from your current packaging. How different the packaging should be from your current packaging depends on your business model.
▶ HOUSE OF BRANDS MODEL : If your company follows a house of
brands model and you have the bandwidth to support a new brand, developing a new low- or no-alcohol brand will help create a clear demarcation from your full-proof alcohol brand. Not only can the design look completely different, but you can also develop a brand name that communicates low or no alcohol content, and your marketing efforts can further reinforce this messaging. However, this also entails the time and investment necessary to build a new brand.
3 https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-common-are-glp-1-drugslike-ozempic-13-of-u-s-adults-have-used-them
5 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1076508/most-popular-new-year-s-resolutions-in-the-united-states/
4 https://apnews.com/article/ozempic-wegovy-glp1-zepbound-weight-lossdrugs-21ce23578ebd0c9d7e2b532a8fe92bbc
6 https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alcohol-misuse-or-alcohol-use-disorder/factsabout-aging-and-alcohol
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