Cork retailer reports a huge rise in non-alcohol drink sales due to 'Dry January'

CORK company Musgrave said they have seen a 1,200% increase in the sale of low and non-alcoholic drinks over the last three months.

The wholesale supplier revealed the huge surge in sales since November fuelled by initiatives such as ‘Dry January’ and the growing emphasis on health and wellness among consumers.

In response to this growing demand, Musgrave launched a dedicated low and non-alcoholic section of their premises, the first wholesale group in Europe to do so.

Zero alcohol is a key trend for this year as bars and restaurants get more creative with their low and non-alcoholic offerings.

Stephen Duffy from Irish bar, restaurant and hotel group Press Up said they have also seen an increase in demand for non-alcoholic drinks over the past few months, but it has really taken off with the ‘dry January’ campaign.

“We haven’t seen a reduction in our alcohol sales because of this trend but instead we’ve seen an increased number of occasions that people can drink non-alcoholic beer,” he said.

Sheena Forde, Trading Director at Musgrave MarketPlace, said the demand for low and non-alcoholic drinks has been on the rise over the last year and it is set to increase further.

“It made sense for us to take the initiative and create a dedicated section for this category. At present we have dedicated sections in three of our branches and we will continue to expand this over the next year. This isn’t a trend that is going away. We predict double-digit growth in this area over the next 12 months,” she said.