USA: Sober Curious Movement Growing
The sober curious movement is growing in the United States with two thirds of millennials aiming to reduce their alcohol consumption.
Nielsen reports,
- 47% of US consumers over the age of 21 are making a concerted effort to reduce their alcohol intake – a figure that leaps to 66% when looking specifically at millennials, who are driving this change.
- 54% of consumers abstained from alcohol at some point during the past year, with half of those surveyed citing health as the primary motivator.
- 20% of those surveyed by Nielsen also took part in the “Dry January” initiative.
The change in the alcohol norm is driving bars and restaurants to expand on the non-alcoholic beverage range.
Nielsen reports that alcohol consumption in the US has been “relatively flat over the past year”, but non-alcoholic beer sales are growing.
In the on-trade, no and low-alcohol beer is the fifth-fastest growing beer type in the US, and has a total value of US$77 million. In US retail meanwhile, non-alcoholic drinks are worth US$7 billion more than they were four years ago, with sales growing by $1.1 billion in the last year alone.
The trend for health and wellness has been growing globally driven by millennials across the world becoming more aware and focused on healthy consumption.
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