UK: Heineken, Brewdog hoping to turn Dry January into sales opportunity

Brewers Heineken and Brewdog are hoping to turn Dry January into a sales opportunity with a string of deals and promotions on their low ABV and alcohol-free beers, The Drinks Business reported on January 2.

Traditionally, ‘Dry January’ is considered a quieter month for the UK on-trade, with consumers abstaining from alcohol and avoiding the pub altogether.

However, sales of beers with an ABV of 1.2% or lower have soared over the past two years. According to market analyst Mintel, 28% of beer drinkers are now starting to cut back on consumption due to health concerns. Meanwhile, analysis by EeBria Trade shows that sales of low and no-alcohol beers have risen 381% since 2017.

Sales of no and low alcohol drinks in the UK on-trade rose by 48% to around £60 million last year, according to CGA’s latest report.

Now, brewers with the capacity and resources to produce non-alcoholic beers on a grand scale are hoping to turn the start of the year into a more lucrative period for the industry.

Dutch brewer Heineken has rolled out what it calls ‘January Dry Packs’. Similar to an advent calendar, that feature 31 cans of its non-alcoholic Heineken 0.0. The beer picked up a Gold medal in our Beer Masters 2018 competition.

The limited edition packs will be free to fans available in cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Brewdog has not only pledged to offer free refills on its alcohol-free beers throughout its global bar chain, but also launched a pop-up dedicated to the AF category.

Opening in London’s Old Street on Monday 6 January, it will be the first of the company’s global bars to feature a line-up solely devoted to drinks without alcohol, offering 15 taps of draft alcohol-free craft beer.

BrewDog is also expanding its core range of alcohol-free beers with two tasty new additions. Wake Up Call, a Coffee Stout and Hazy AF, an alcohol-free take on its existing New England IPA, Hazy Jane join Nanny State and Punk AF.

Finally, Brewdog will also run a ‘Drink All You Can Jan’ promotion across its global bar portfolio this month, which offers drinkers unlimited refills of BrewDog alcohol-free beers.

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