Non -alcoholic beer is on the way to overcome Ale as the second largest category of beer by volume worldwide this year, according to a new projection of the IWSR industry tracker.
Although the general volume of beer fell approximately 1% in 2024, the volume for its non -alcoholic counterpart grew 9% worldwide, according to IWSR. The category growth was accelerated in 2018 and has continued to exceed the broader beer market since then.
IWSR is projecting that alcohol -free beer will grow by 8% annually until 2029, while the volume of ale is expected to slide 2% per year in that same period.
Despite recent growth, alcohol without alcohol is far from becoming the best -selling beer category worldwide and only has about 2% of participation in the world beer market. With a market share of 92%, Lager is from far the largest beer category and still grows, although at a slower pace than alcohol without alcohol.
Alcohol -free beer has gained popularity as more consumers reduce their alcohol consumption, which leads to brewers to invest in zero -proof alternatives. The trend is particularly surprising in the younger age cohorts; Gen Z drinks less than generations prior to the same age, and millennials have most of the alcohol without alcohol, according to IWSR. Younger drinkers use fashion words as “curious sober” and “wet lifestyle” to describe moderating their alcoholic intake, instead of completely refraining.
The additional fuel for the trend comes from companies that make non -alcoholic beers, which have improved to imitate the taste of their alcoholic twins. Practically all the big beer brands, from Diageo’s Guinness to Heineken and Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s Budweiser, have launched a zero-proof version in the last five years.
Beer’s non -alcoholic retail retail sales exceeded $ 17 billion in 2023, according to Bernstein. When observing the global markets, Germany, Spain and Japan, they bought the most non -alcoholic beer that year. The United States landed in sixth place for its sales of alcohol beer, although its classification falls much more when measured by the general penetration of sales.
Much of the growth in the US. The upstart, which was founded in 2018, has 17% of the participation of the category volume, exceeding the Bud Zero of Ab Inbev and the 0.0 version of Heineken. Only three years before, Athletic only had a 4%stake. According to reports, the company was valued at approximately $ 800 million in its last financing round in 2024.
Even non -alcoholic beer has not been immune to the eruption of alcohol brands backed by celebrities. Actor Tom Holland launched Bero, the Basketball withdrawal Dwyane Wade Cofundó Budweiser Zero with AB Inbev and Podcasta presenter and actor Dax Shepherd created Ted Segers.
