Cocktail of new trends orders radical refresh for Diageo
Debra Crew’s abrupt departure from the top job at Guinness-maker Diageo has highlighted the radical changes transforming the world of drinks.
The industry is under pressure from weight-loss drugs that suppress alcohol craving and the ‘sober curious’ movement among Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012.
Sales of no or low alcohol drinks are up 28 per cent at Ocado and 32 per cent at Waitrose, while pubs are predicted to sell a record 33 million pints of no or low alcohol beer this summer, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
No or low alcohol drinks are on a ‘gradual march into the mainstream’, says Fraser McKevitt of Kantar. The research firm found seven in 100 households bought one last month, lifting sales 21 per cent.
On the rocks: Debra Crew left Diageo as drinking habits change
Sarah Holland, Waitrose’s low-and-no buyer, said: ‘There’s a trend to wellbeing-focused drinking that doesn’t compromise on flavour or social connection.’
Olivia Ferdi, who founded Trip, Britain’s largest privately owned soft drinks firm, goes further: ‘The main reason people drink alcohol is to relax and unwind, but most alcohol-free options don’t deliver on taste or relaxing.’
She says Trip’s CBD-infused drinks take the edge off a long day.
There are shifts in the market for alcoholic drinks too.
Traditional aperitifs such as gin and tonic are being replaced by the likes of Hugo Spritz – a mix of elderflower liqueur, prosecco, mint, soda water and lime. So is Britain really going teetotal?
‘There is an equally strong movement to moderation, where consumers drink less but better,’ said Ed Faulkner of Sapling Spirits, which makes ‘climate-positive vodka’ from winter wheat.
So Gen Z still has an appetite for the social lubricant that makes for those memory-forming occasions of our 20s and early 30s.
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