No and Low Alcohol
Into the
light The no and low alcohol sector has done some considerable work to dismantle consumer misconceptions and has transformed itself into a competitive category for bottle shops.
The past couple of years have seen an absolute explosion of the no and low alcohol (NOLO) sector in Australia, taking it from small and niche to now be one of the fastest growing and most innovated areas of the market. Producers in this space have all seen the value of the sector rise in the past year. For example, at Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), no, low and mid strength alcohol SKUs now make up nearly 30 per cent of beer sales, while at independent brewer Modus Operandi, the volume of its non-alcoholic beer label Nort has increased by up to 11 times. “We expect with consumers increasingly choosing to moderate that this trajectory will continue to grow throughout the year,” said Verity Jackson, representative for Great Northern at Carlton & United Breweries. According to IRI data, the strong growth of the NOLO sector continues to build with an almost constant stream of NPD. Stuart Henshall, Brand Director at Brunswick Aces, said: “The selection available now compared to just five years ago is almost unimaginable, with new brands seemingly launching on a weekly basis.” This is happening on a worldwide scale too, according to Bill Shufelt, Founder of US non-alcoholic beer, Athletic Brewing Co. “Non-alcoholic beverages represent the biggest new consumer introduction potential in all of on- and off-premise drinking occasions. And until a few years ago, there were no products to service these populations, but now it’s one of the most exciting innovation categories in beverage,” he said. Growth is being experienced by all kinds of producers, whether they’re adding NOLO options into what was a full-strength portfolio or solely playing
52 | National Liquor News
