Boom in low-alcohol beers in UK

The UK has seen a significant surge in the sales of low ABV beers, with figures showing a doubling of sales from 2023 to 2024, making it the eighth largest global market for such beers. This growth is attributed to the tax reform introduced in August 2023, which resulted in a reduction in the alcohol duty for beers with an ABV of 3.5% or lower. Brewers like Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company and Heineken have altered their recipes to fall below the 3.5% ABV threshold, and the British Beer and Pub Association reported that 87% of pubs now serve at least one low- or no-alcohol beer.

Fresh figures have shown that the UK has become one of the fastest growing markets for low ABV beers, following the change in alcohol duty introduced last summer. According to figures shown to the Financial Times by data company IWSR, sales of low-alcohol beer have doubled from 650,000 hectolitres in 2023 to almost 1.3 million last year. It means that the UK’s growth of the sector is double its nearest competition globally, which was the South American state of Venezuela, with Romania and Japan ranking jointly third. Overall, it has seen the UK become the eighth largest market across the world for low-alcohol beer, which is a rise from being ranked in 13th in 2022.The news follows the taxation reform in August 2023, where 3.5% ABV and under beers were taxed less than beers above this ABV, and classified as low strength drinks. A slew of macro brewers and drinks giants quickly changed recipes to get around the new taxation rules, resulting in a large number of the UK’s most ...