The Mainstreaming of Moderation

The London Financial Times published an editorial on August 24 reporting that “Abste­mi­ous Gen­er­a­tion Z is help­ing to boost no- and low-alco­hol drinks.”

They note that, globally, sales of alcoholic drinks have fallen, and that no-alco­hol beverages are where much of the growth is today. Specifically, research group IWSR reports:

US no-alco­hol volumes jumped 29 per cent, and global no-alco­hol beer volumes grew 6 per cent in 2023, wine 7 per cent and spir­its 15 per cent. Growth in no- and low-alco­hol drinks is expec­ted to be roughly five times that of total alco­holic bever­ages in 2023-28.

Indeed, a recent paper from IWSR attributes the popularity of no-alcohol beverages in the States to Millennials:

In April 2023, 45% of no-alcohol beer consumers in the US were Millennials; by April 2024, that figure had risen to 61% – far ahead of Gen X at 22% and legal aged Gen Z at only 7%. Similar participation rates are reported for no-alcohol spirits (66% of consumers are Millennials) and no-alcohol wine (59%).

IWSR attribute this to an increase in social activity enabled by significant improvement in Millennial finances, with a taste for both full-strength and no-alcohol drinks, noting “Almost half of Millennial no-alcohol consumers are classed as ‘substituters’ – in other words, those who drink no-alcohol products on some occasions, and full-strength on others.”

Additionally:

Millennials are curious about the no-alcohol category, displaying a keenness to trial new products across the no-alcohol spectrum – and this willingness to experiment is likely to drive further category growth as consumption rates continue to grow.

As for Millennials, so for Gen Z. IWSR reports:

When asked in April 2023, 54% of Gen Z legal drinking age (LDA) adults in the US say they have not consumed an alcoholic beverage in the past six months, compared to 37% of the total LDA population.

The FT notes that an increasing number of young people see drunk­en­ness as simply uncool. And while kombucha is not mentioned, younger generations look to functional beverages to improve their sense of well-being:

…many young people are turn­ing to cheaper, less hangover-indu­cing altern­at­ives includ­ing can­nabis (Gal­lup says use almost doubled in 18- to 34-yearolds in the US in the past dec­ade) or other soft drugs, or “func­tional” drinks. These may be infused with CBD oil, or adap­to­gens or nootrop­ics — plants or mush­rooms said to deliver effects such as redu­cing inhib­i­tions.

The FT editorial writer closes with a nod to their older readers who might well recall enjoying a three-martini lunch and wonder what the world is coming to:

Where might this all end? Epi­cur­eans of a cer­tain age may lament — out of earshot of Gen-Z off­spring — that tak­ing alco­hol out of alco­holic drinks seems part of a con­tinuum that began with tak­ing caf­feine out of cof­fee, fat out of fatty foods and sugar out of sug­ary drinks. It has spread to tak­ing (cow’s) milk out of milk, saus­ages out of saus­age rolls and indeed meat out of meat. Yet if those who, for med­ical, life­style or eth­ical reas­ons, have to limit con­sump­tion of such products can enjoy altern­at­ives deliv­er­ing sim­ilar taste sen­sa­tions, that is surely pos­it­ive.

Surely even more positive are the benefits of embracing the infinite possibilities of kombucha, jun, and fermented foods in general.