« NoLo Drinks : a growing market » : Les Echos Études (June 2024) analyze the market for non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drinks (no-low), ses perspectives, its challenges and the growth strategies of its players.
For several years, non-alcoholic or low-alcohol drinks are on the rise across the world. In France, they are gradually gaining ground on supermarket shelves, as well as in the cellars of bars and restaurants. The market is opening up new horizons beyond the non-alcoholic beer aisle, pioneer in the field and which still remains the locomotive of the market. Spirits, ready-to-drink cocktails and wines are now available in no or low alcohol versions.
A strategic category
The NoLo is driven by strong motors. In the first place, a continued decline in alcohol consumption, especially among young people, with consumers more concerned about their health and guided by the desire to promote well-being and better self-control. More and more consumers are therefore looking for substitutes for alcoholic beverages without sacrificing conviviality and pleasure.. The NoLo category allows you to open up to new consumers : “flexi-drinkers”, young professionals, sportsmen, pregnant women, people undergoing medical treatment… It also makes it possible to create new moments of consumption outside the constraints linked to driving and the negative effects of alcohol..
A product mix to optimize
This market with strong growth potential is attracting the attention of a growing number of players. With an offering that is diversifying and moving upmarket, driven by the innovation and creativity of beverage producers, whether large groups or start-ups. NoLo also constitutes an important avenue of diversification for established players in alcoholic beverages, particularly for the wine industry, which suffers from a continued decline in consumption. NoLo drinks are, certainly, become more qualitative thanks to a continuous improvement in taste, to the evolution of manufacturing techniques and the capacity for innovation of players present on the market. However, levers for optimizing the product mix are still essential to support market growth.
