Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Key themes
- Definition
- Abbreviations
Future Opportunities
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- Making a meal of low alcohol drinks
- Adding festive sparkle
Market in Brief
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- A growing market
- Lager leads in sales, NPD investment
- Nation becomes more ‘drink aware’
- Innovation and marketing propel category forward
- Sales shift towards retail, but on-trade value is needed
- Market opportunities
- Further investment key to future growth
Internal Market Environment
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- Key points
- British public heeds health message
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- Figure 1: Trends for alcohol consumption and frequency generally, at home and elsewhere, 2004-08
- Binge-drinking backlash also hits home
- Increase in incidents associated with drinking and driving in 2007
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- Figure 2: Number of licensed vehicles on UK roads, 2003-07
- Low alcohol gains in cachet?
- Consumers are less experimental
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- Figure 3: Trends in attitudes towards alcohol, 2004-08
Broader Market Environment
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- Key points
- Other European markets more receptive to LADs
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- Figure 4: European comparison of alcohol and low alcohol beer consumption, 2008
- Legislative issues
- Government and industry tackle alcohol abuse
- Labelling legislation highlights ABV
- The smoking ban and evolving pub culture
- ABV-linked tax proposals could benefit low alcohol category
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- Figure 5: Alcohol taxation rates applied in the UK from December 1, 2008
- EU ruling may boost profile of low-alcohol wines
- Ageing population poses a challenge
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- Figure 6: Structure of the UK population, by age and gender, 2003-13
- Recent unemployment increases bad news for LADs
Competitive Context
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- Key points
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- Figure 7: Market size and growth for premium (adult) soft drinks, carbonates and fruit juice and juice drinks, 2003-07
- Premium soft drinks
- Wine-based adult soft drinks
- Carbonates
- Fruit juice and juice drinks
Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
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- Key points
- Climate of concern turns attention to LADs
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- Figure 8: Reduced/no alcohol launches as a percentage of alcoholic launches, 2004-08
- Beer: can ‘lower alcohol’ be the new ‘extra cold’
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- Figure 9: NPD in low/no/reduced alcohol launches, % by drinks category, 2005-08
- NPD revives flat low/no-alcohol cider category
- Wine
- International innovations
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- LADs leave alcoholic drink doldrums behind
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- Figure 10: UK volume sales of LADs as percentage of total sales, by sector, 2007
- Figure 11: UK retail value and volume sales of low-alcohol drinks, 2003-13
- LADs emerge as a trend in 2007
- Potential emerges in wine and cider categories
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- Figure 12: UK retail value and volume sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks, by sector, 2004-08
- The future of the market
- Forecast
- Beer is behind steady market growth
- Factors used in the forecast
Segment Performance
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- Key points
- New entrants propel beer sales
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- Figure 13: UK retail value sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free beer, 2003-13
- Figure 14: UK retail volume sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free beer, 2003-13
- Capturing the middle ground
- Consistent retail growth for low ABV wines
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- Figure 15: UK retail value sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free wine*, 2003-13
- Figure 16: UK retail volume sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free wine*, 2003-13
- Low-alcohol variants jump on the cider bandwagon
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- Figure 17: UK retail value sales of mid-strength, low-alcohol and alcohol-free cider, 2003-13
- Figure 18: UK retail volume sales of mid-strenghth, low-alcohol and alcohol-free cider, 2003-13
Market Share
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- Key points
- Competition heats up over Kaliber’s eroding share
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- Figure 19: Brand shares in low-alcohol and alcohol-free beer, by volume, 2004-08
- Top two lead wine sales
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- Figure 20: Brand shares in low-alcohol and alcohol-free wine, by volume, 2004-08
Companies and Products
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- Adnams
- Bavaria
- Carlsberg UK
- Chalié Richards
- Cobra
- Coors Brewers
- C&C Group
- Diageo
- Harveys
- InBev UK
- Kopparberg
- LoNo Drinks Company
- PLB
- Surfax
- Weston’s
Brand Communication and Promotion
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- Key points
- Mid-strength lager entrant buoys total spend
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- Figure 21: Main monitored media advertising spend on low/no alcohol beer & lager, 2004-08
- Adspend by advertiser
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- Figure 22: Main monitored media advertising spend on mid-strength, low/no alcohol beer and lager, by advertiser, 2004-08
- Carling C2
- Cobra Zero%
- Bavaria Alcohol Free
- Clausthaler
- Responsible drinking campaigns
Channels to Market
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- Key points
- Slide continues in favour of off-trade sales
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- Figure 23: UK retail volume sales of low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks, by outlet type, 2006-08
- LADs hit by pub downturn
- Buoyant supermarket sales lead category growth
The Consumer – Usage
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- Key points
- Making LADs a part of a young man’s night out
- Encouraging taste trials of new LADs
- Who currently drinks LADs?
- Frequency of drinking
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- Figure 24: Frequency of drinking low-alcohol beer or lager (cans or bottles), 2004-08
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- Figure 25: Consumption of low alcoholic drinks, October 2008
- Older consumers and women reject LADs
- Men most receptive
- Poor past experiences a turn-off
- Enticing newcomers to the category
The Consumer – Attitudes and Motivations
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- Key points
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- Figure 26: Agreement with statements about low alcoholic drinks, October 2008
- Two-fifths of consumers lack awareness of the LAD category
- Preference for soft drinks holding LADs back
- Taste testings to change perceptions
- Expanding choice
Targeting Opportunities
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- Key point
- Low awareness and preference for soft drinks are major stumbling blocks
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- Figure 27: Intention to drink low/no-alcohol drinks by general attitudes towards them, October 2008
- 19 million Brits willing and able
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- Figure 28: Potentials or rejectors by general attitudes towards low/no alcohol, October 2008
- Greatest potential amongst younger consumers
- Tesco and Asda missing an opportunity?
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- Figure 29: Supermarkets with the best demographic fit for potentials, October 2008
Appendix
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- Consumer research
- ACORN
- Advertising data
- Abbreviations
Appendix – Internal Market Environment
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- Figure 30: Trends for not drinking alcohol by gender, 2004-08
- Figure 31: Attitudes towards alcohol, by demographic sub-group, 2007
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Appendix – The Consumer Usage
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- Figure 32: Consumption of low-alcoholc drinks, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
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- Figure 33: Consumption (cans or bottles) of low alcohol beer or lager, by demographic sub-group, 2007
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- Figure 34: Consumption (cans or bottles) of low alcohol beer or lager, by demographic sub-group, 2007
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Appendix – The Consumer: Attitudes and Motivations
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- Figure 35: Agreement with statements about low-alcoholic drinks, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
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- Figure 36: Agreement with statements about low alcoholic drinks, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
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Appendix – Targeting Opportunities
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- Figure 37: Potentials and Rejectors, by demographic sub-group, October 2008
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