Diageo and Waitrose team up to grow space for alcohol-free

The upmarket grocer will introduce dedicated areas in 253 shops across the UK, a move it says will make it easier for shoppers to find low & no-alcohol drinks.

Waitrose said sales of the low & no products it stocks across its estate had grown by 20% in the past 12 months, with beer growing the fastest.

Research commissioned by Diageo and Ipsos in February, however, found seven in 10 UK adults wanted to be able to find alcohol-free drinks in store more easily.

This has led the Johnnie Walker brand owner to partner with Waitrose to introduce the new dedicated bays, which will stock 70 low & no-alcohol drinks and will not be limited to Diageo SKUs.

Nuno Teles, MD at Diageo GB, said the partnership would “make it easier for consumers to know where to find alcohol-free and low-alcohol options in store”.

“Diageo has a long-standing commitment to promote responsible drinking and this partnership demonstrates what is possible when brands and retailers work together to enable greater consumer choice and experience,” he added.

The consumption of low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks is fast becoming normalised, with 99% of shoppers having reported buying these products in the past year [Kantar Shopper Panel w/e 9 July 2023].

Additionally, nearly half of UK adults (47%) are switching between alcoholic and low & no drinks during the same consumption occasion, and 40% of adults want to moderate their drinking [Kantar Alcovision Data 31 May 2023].

In response, multinational drinks companies including Diageo, Asahi and Carlsberg have extended their flagship products into alcohol-free.

Pierpaolo Petrassi, head of BWS at Waitrose, hailed the creation of alcohol-free versions of recognisable brands as being a key factor in the category’s growth.

The Grocer