Low2NoBev – a trade event dedicated to low and no alcohol drinks – opens its doors this week: showcasing more than 150 brands and offering unique insights into the growing category.
UK’s premium mixer brand Fever-Tree is ramping up its Asia-Pacific expansion with a launch into South Korea this year, and rolling out its low-calorie range into more markets.
Having launched in its home market of Australia in January, Ovant has already expanded distribution of its alcohol-free distillations to Singapore and will hit the UK this month.
Heineken UK’s Manchester brewery is using millions of pints of beer – which was unable to be sold with the COVID-19 closure of the on-trade – to power its operations.
By Dan Hooper, co-founder, YesMore alcohol marketing agency
As the UK prepares to ease restrictions, brands and venues face the challenge of finding a celebratory yet responsible and realistic tone in their marketing and communications. Dan Hooper, co-founder of YesMore marketing agency, gives his five top tips...
The low to no alcohol category is growing: but how can brands and retailers tap into this opportunity? A new show will put the spotlight on the sector while showcasing some of the most successful brands.
UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, a trade organization representing the non-alcoholic beverage sector, has set targets for European beverage packaging to be fully circular by 2030. This will be achieved by using rPET, refillable bottles, and boosting collection...
In the first decision of its kind, The Portman Group has upheld a complaint against CBD gin ‘Colorado High’ in the UK for both creating a link with an illicit drug and implying therapeutic qualities. But the craft distiller behind the gin argues adults...
Coca-Cola is replacing its front-of-pack logo with a series of resolutions representing hope and optimism for 2021 as part of its ‘Open to Better’ campaign in the UK.
By Danielle Jackson, Strategic Planner, ZEAL Creative
The soft drinks category has been working through a challenging year. Danielle Jackson, strategic planner at UK brand activation marketing agency ZEAL Creative, asks what lessons the industry can learn and take into 2021.
Launched by former SABMiller Global Brewing Innovation Director, Binary's botanical beer offers mindful drinkers a ‘lighter, beer-like alternative to a glass of wine’.
While the US is the most developed market for kombucha, the category is growing in Europe with the drink’s natural and functional positioning ready to tap into health and wellness trends. But the evolution of the French, German and UK markets shows the...
Lockdowns and continuing on-trade restrictions have hit C&C Group’s H1 2021: while the company warns the key Christmas trading period is also likely to be impacted by disruption in the hospitality industry.
Six beverage brands make the BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable UK Brands ranking. What have these brands – which include BrewDog and Gordon’s Gin – done so well to put them alongside big names like Dyson, Jaguar and M&S?
The UK has seen a 44% reduction in sugar content per 100ml in drinks covered by the UK’s sugar tax: a much greater reduction than sugar reduction achieved across food categories, according to a government report.
Non-alcoholic spirits: a fledgling category - but one with plenty of potential. Pernod Ricard, which is behind brands such as Ceder’s and Celtic Soul, eyes up four trends it expects to see in non-alcoholic spirits in the future.
Ribena-owner Lucozade Ribena Suntory has changed its name to Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I. The move seeks to bring the London-headquartered company closer to Japanese parent Suntory Global – but what does that mean in practice?
The UK government will launch a consultation this year on its intention to make companies provide calorie labelling on all pre-packaged alcohol they sell.
UK gin sales reached a new record in 2019: with Brits buying 83 million bottles worth over £2.6bn ($3.3bn USD). And while the impact of coronavirus on 2020 sales remains unknown, gin has been the best-selling spirit across online platforms during lockdown....
Lucozade Ribena Suntory (LRS) has invested £500,000 ($634,000 USD) to extend a 30-year partnership with researchers at Scotland’s James Hutton Institute to develop new varieties of climate-resilient blackcurrants.
UK-based wine packaging and wholesaler Garçon Wines is eyeing Asia-Pacific, specially Australia, New Zealand and China with its flat PET wine bottles that can fit through a letterbox.
White Claw Hard Seltzer – ‘America’s most successful new alcohol brand in a generation’ – is launching in the UK. And the brand promises more global launches in the coming months.
The CBD market is now one of the fastest growing wellbeing product categories in the UK. Holly Finnegan, Regulatory Affairs Advisor at Ashbury, looks at the CBD market, the complicated regulatory situation and lack of labelling enforcement surrounding...
Some of hospitality’s top drinks brands are predicting that 2020 will be a year of acceleration for the emerging low/no alcohol drinks category – with momentum continuing to build beyond Dry January.
By Steve Spice, Regulatory Manager at Ashbury Labelling
'Alcohol-free' in the EU means drinks with 0.5% ABV or below - and yet in the UK 'alcohol-free' drinks must be below 0.05% ABV. Steve Spice, Regulatory Manager at Ashbury Labelling looks at the different low and no alcohol descriptors...
An Oxford University study has found the total amount of sugar sold in soft drinks in the UK dropped by 29% between 2015-2018. “Sustained pressure on business, including fiscal measures, has led to a striking reduction,” say the researchers.
With trendy plant-based alternatives such as soy milk or almond milk, consumers often find a health halo around indulgent coffee shop drinks. But festive favourites such as hot chocolate and sweetly-spiced lattes contain ‘huge’ amounts of sugar, says...
Taking its name from the lyrebird (an Australian bird famed for being able to imitate almost any sound), Lyre’s has set out to become the greatest mimic in the non-alcoholic spirits category. Launched earlier this year, the Aussie brand has already spread...
Hard seltzers have hit the UK, hoping to mirror the meteoric success of the category in the US. But will Brits seize seltzers and embrace them in the same way as Americans have – or are the two markets more different than they first appear?
Refillable beer bottles could soon become the norm in the UK, according to supermarket Waitrose: while alcohol-free drinks, orange wine and personalised spirits are other trends to look out for.
The low and no alcohol category is still very young: and as a result brand loyalty is weak. The challenge for brands is to attract and maintain consumers: but there's also an opportunity to build brand loyalty and become a defining brand in the category....
How do you spot a spirit with style? What are the biggest trends in beer? And how are low and no ABV products shaping the drinks market? A new event called Drink Tank will put the spotlight on the opportunities and challenges for drinks in the UK on-trade....
Beverage alcohol associations from both the US and EU are calling for an immediate end to tariffs on spirits and wine: “We are united in our opposition to tariffs and clear in our view that there are no winners in a trade war."
England’s outgoing Chief Medical Officer says the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has been successful in reducing sugar in children’s drinks: and is calling for the levy to be extended to milk-based drinks.
Low and no ABV brands account for 1.3% of the UK's total beverage alcohol market, whereas in the US it’s just 0.5%. But is the US catching up - and where can we expect to see the most growth in the future?
An advert for a Scottish gin brand, which depicted a group drinking gin after reaching a mountain peak, has been banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog.
By Steve Perez, founder and chairman, Global Brands
A new report from the Social Market Foundation for reforming alcohol duty in the UK is welcome. However, Brexit won’t create a realistic opportunity for changing alcohol taxes to encourage more responsible drinking. This requires a change in Government...
Britons drink 22 million bottles of wine a week: but are confused when it comes to wine terms, according to research commissioned by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.
Skinny Brands is eyeing up an opportunity for lower calorie - rather than lower alcohol – drinks. ‘The overwhelming majority of consumers want a better product – not to stop drinking all together,’ says its co-founder.
UK sugar tax has removed 45,000 tonnes of sugar from shelves, says government
The UK government is considering extending its sugar tax to milk drinks: with the announcement made just before the confirmation of Boris Johnson – who has pledged a review of ‘nanny state sin taxes’ – as the country's next Prime Minister.
