“A market that really comes down to taste and enjoyment”

In this exclusive interview, Gavin Wren, food policy consultant, content creator and writer shares his insights on the booming low- and no-alcohol beverage market. From shifting consumer habits to the rise of kombucha and tech-driven health awareness, he explores the key forces shaping this rapidly evolving sector.

How do you see the low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage market evolving in recent years? What emerging trends are you seeing?
The depth and breadth of products that hit the low/no market is evolving at a rapid pace. From beers, wines and spirits through to ever more sophisticated soft drinks, it feels like a market that’s growing and still pickup up momentum. There’s been such a massive cultural shift towards younger generations eschewing the pub and alcohol in favour of the gym and healthier drinks, I can only see the low/no market growing massively and diversifying alongside this cultural shift too.

In your opinion, what are the main factors driving consumers to turn to these new alternatives? 
There’s a huge amount of technological, cultural and political convergence that is pushing people away form alcohol. There’s been a ig focus on gut health in recent years which has transitioned into the high street supermarkets, which combined with massive amounts of consumer concerns over ultra processed foods, are only going to drive consumers to question the healthfullness of the drinks they’re buying. Also, I think wearables are having a huge impact, because anyone that’s tracked their sleep quality with devices like Whoop or Garmin watches will know that alcohol utterly destroys sleep quality. Lastly, the UK government recently reformed the alcohol duty classes to offer lower rates on drinks under 3.5% alcohol which also pushes people into the low/no trend.

What recent innovations in this sector do you find particularly noteworthy or promising?
The focus and development of kombuchas in their various forms seems to be an area where premium innovation has a lot of room to manouvre into alcohol alternatives. 

How can brands successfully differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive alcohol-free market?
It’s hard for sure, and this is a market that really comes down to taste and enjoyment, but also specific events. It’s important to be ultra-specific about the use-case, for example do you want your drink to be taken to dinner parties, or is it one for a hot summer day picnic, or a post-gym refresh?

What advice would you give to traditional producers looking to move into the low-alcohol or alcohol-free beverage market?
If you’ve got a solid audience already, then leverage that to offer low/no variants of your most popular products. Don’t re-invent the wheel, there’s lots of massively successful drinks that are simply reduced alcohol version of their star product, such as Guinness 0%

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