Dry Jan boosts alc-free sales but Veganuary falls flat

• Lo-non alcoholic booze increase by £3million in sales Y-O-Y during dry January

• Veganuary sales decline by nearly 10% in 2024

• Retail data experts Reapp, investigate dry January and veganuary sales performance over the past calendar year

Major brands selling lo-non alcoholic beers and ciders have seen Y-O-Y sales increase by 58% during Dry January, new data across Britain’s major supermarkets from Reapp reveals.*

Multi-packs of alcohol-free booze equated to a total sales value of £8.3million in January, a £3million increase from the year before (£5.3million).

Total sales volume increased by nearly a third in the same period, even though the average price on the shelves inflated by an eye-watering 22% – rising from £7.85 per pack to nearly £10 (£9.60) in 2024.

James Lamplugh, Reapp Commercial Director, said: “Brands have banked on innovation more than ever within the alcohol free beverage category, with more flavours and price ranges available, it has never been easier for Brits to try an alcohol-free lifestyle.

“Our data demonstrates that even through a heavily inflated pricing period for the category, shoppers’ baskets are influenced by healthier lifestyle choices more than ever.”

But, in contrast to surging lo-non alcoholic sales during Dry January – it’s a very different story for vegan products.

Sales plunged during Veganuary by 8% across supermarkets, suggesting the trend is slowly moving out of favour with British shoppers.

In particular, meat-free alternatives were hit with the biggest sales blow during veganuary, with one brand seeing sales value decrease by over £200k Y-O-Y.

The free-from/ plant based category as a whole saw sales decrease by over half a million pounds (£5.3million total) during veganuary 2024, compared to the previous year (£5.85million total). The category also saw average selling prices hit by a 5% increase Y-O-Y from £2.00 to £2.10.

James added: “Last year we saw many brands struggle within the broader vegan category, which means Reapp’s analysis comes as no surprise to see veganuary sales slump.

“However, it’s not all doom and gloom as brands will continue to adapt SKUs to attract more and more consumers to experiment with a vegan diet.”