salt lake city — Qatar was a controversial choice for the World Cup in November, but it was also big news when the country announced it would not allow the sale of beer in the stadiums that hosted the games.
The move was the latest sign of tension in hosting an event that is not just a sports tournament but a month-long party in an autocratic country where alcohol sales are severely restricted. It hit beer sponsor Budweiser hard and raised questions about how much control FIFA holds in the tournament.
But then Budweiser turned lemons into its famous lemonade by touting its new alcohol-free product, Budweiser Zero.
So-called “closer to beer” isn’t the only option these days. The company has released near-zero whiskey, alcohol-free rum and gin, and zero-proof margaritas, reports NPR newsletter Planet Money.
According to NielsenIQ.com, a global information company, “young Gen Z consumers are less concerned with drinking than previous generations.” and more people at different life stages are trying to take better care of themselves.
Total sales of non-alcoholic beverages in the U.S. from August 2021 to August 2022 were $396 million, up 20.6% year-on-year, according to the website.
Non-alcoholic beer accounts for 85.3% of sales, according to NielsonIQ.com. Non-alcoholic wines accounted for 13.4% and non-alcoholic spirits 1.3%.
“Over the past year, sales of non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits accounted for 0.47% of total US alcohol sales. While still a small number, this percentage share has been steady over the past five years. ,” says the website.
NielsonIQ has broken it all down like this.
- 2021: 0.39% of total alcohol sales
- 2020: 0.30% of total alcohol sales
- 2019: 0.26% of total alcohol sales
- 2018: 0.22% of total alcohol sales
For people who drink non-alcoholic beverages, this doesn’t mean they will be sober.According to NeilsonIQ, 82% of people who buy non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits also drink alcoholic beverages. increase.
NielsonIQ’s Kaleigh Theriault told Planet Money that more than 70 new alcohol-free products have been launched in the past year.