Young, wild and alcohol-free: Gen Z attitudes to alcohol

BrandVue’s Drinks Most Loved Drinks Brands 2022

We recently launched our BrandVue Drinks report, providing insight into which beverage brands UK adults have the closest emotional connection with.

Using data from BrandVue Drinks, our daily brand tracking tool, we’ve taken a closer look at the differences in drinking habits between Gen Z consumers and their predecessors.

“To stay relevant, constant innovation and diversifying will be needed to secure the customers of tomorrow.”

Gen Z are more likely to buy low and no alcohol drinks

The largest difference between Gen Z and Baby Boomers purchase behaviours within the low/no alcohol category can be seen when we take a look at Corona’s alcohol-free beer brand, Corona Cero.

Only 8% of Baby Boomers have reported buying this brand in the last 12 months, compared with a staggering 44% of Gen Z.

This 36% difference is indicative of Gen Z and Baby Boomers’ disparate attitudes towards low-alcohol beverages.

Penetration data for other brands from within this category cements this trend, with every brand seeing a higher percentage of Gen Z consumers reporting buying their products, than both Generation X and Baby Boomers.

For brand image amongst low/no alcohol brands, there are noticeable differences in associations with young people vs old.

• For 86% of the low and no alcohol drinks brands we track, more consumers associate them with being ‘for young people’ than ‘for old people’
• One of the most notable differences is for Rekorderlig’s Low Alcohol Cider, where the number of consumers associating it with being ‘for young people’ is 5x that of those associating it with being ‘for old people’ (20% vs 4%)
• Similarly, BrewDog Nanny State sees 22% of consumers stating it’s “for young people”, compared with just 6% who believe the brand is “for old people”

Should drinks brands be evolving?

Clearly there is something to be said for Gen Z’s inclination to drink less alcohol than their predecessors. Whether this is due to the rising costs of alcoholic beverages, or the growing concern for health and wellness, these are invaluable insights for alcoholic drinks brands looking to tap into the low alcohol space.

Brands and retailers mustn’t overlook these trends; to stay relevant, constant innovation and diversifying will be needed to secure the customers of tomorrow.

Click here to discover more about BrandVue Drinks and how it can help your brand.