ZERO TO HERO: Guinness 0.0 sees growing sales as Irish drinkers embrace non-alcohol products

Increasing numbers of Irish drinkers are embracing non-alcoholic beverages, as new volume sales data from Diageo shows sales of Guinness 0.0 on draught has surged by almost 50% over the last year.

According to Diageo, the multinational alcoholic beverage company that distributes the pints of plain, Guinness 0.0 enjoyed a huge 48.7 per cent increase in volume sales between the end of February 2023 and the end of February 2024 across Irish pubs and venues.

This growth seemingly confirms the major growth of non-alcohol beer in recent years, and the specific success of Guinness 0.0 since its introduction to the Irish market just over two and a half years ago.

To support the increasing demand, Guinness has been accelerating the rollout of draught Guinness 0.0, and has pledged that over 2,000 pubs and venues will serve draught Guinness 0.0 by the end of 2024.

This increased demand and distribution of Guinness 0.0 is being met by sustained investment by Guinness, including a new €25 million production facility for the non-alcohol alternative at St James’s Gate in Dublin, announced last year.

This new facility brews almost 90 million pints of Guinness 0.0 every year for the domestic and international markets, and reflects a growing consumer demand for non-alcohol products in Ireland, Britian, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and America.

Barry O’Sullivan, Managing Director of Diageo Ireland said the growing demand for Guinness 0.0 "is very exciting to see".

"As consumer demands evolve, people are looking to brands they know and trust to offer non-alcoholic alternatives, without forgoing the taste and quality they’ve come to expect from a brand like Guinness - that’s exactly what Guinness 0.0 offers’’ O'Sullivan said.

Between 2017 and 2021, the market share for non-alcoholic beer soared from 0.4% to 1.5%, and according to Drinks Ireland, the industry anticipates that non-alcoholic beer will continue to soar in popularity as Irish consumers seek more balance in their drinking and avail of the growing range of alternatives now available.

Concerns have been raised on the advertising of zero alcohol products by campaign groups. Alcohol Action Ireland welcomed comments from Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly in 2023 regarding alcohol companies advertising zero alcohol products as ‘cynical’, and a way of circumventing alcohol advertising restrictions designed to protect children from pervasive alcohol marketing.

Alcohol Action Ireland has been highlighting the issue of the proliferation of zero alcohol product advertising – which are almost identical to the full-strength parent brand, in areas which are restricted under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018.

The campaign group claims these areas include on public transport, in areas close to youth-oriented facilities such as schools, parks, playgrounds, on the field of play during sporting events and in shops outside the designated alcohol zones.