Lucky Saint cheers sales jump after bumper December
The company revealed a festive sales surge as it said shoppers have found ‘new occasions’ to have a pint.
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK’s largest dedicated alcohol-free beer brand has revealed a festive sales surge as it said shoppers have found “new occasions” to have a pint.
The boss of Lucky Saint said it traded “particularly well” over December, as many drinkers have moderated their alcohol consumption throughout the year and not only for Dry January.
Emma Heal, chief executive of the brand, said the brand has benefited from customers choosing to drink beer on more occasions amid the growth of non-alcoholic options.
“We are growing as the whole market is growing” she said.
“We’ve found it’s not been as simply as beer drinkers, swapping for non-alcoholic versions – people are finding new occasions to drink and sometimes switching between alcohol free and alcohol.
“I think that’s why we had a strong December.
“People were happy to drink an alcoholic beer one moment while with friends but have one of ours the next.”
She said the company has benefited from an increase in people choosing to drink non-alcoholic beer on weeknights and during the daytime.
This has seen its cans of Lucky Saint lager included in supermarket meal deal offers as a result.
Lucky Saint said December last year was the group’s largest sales month on record amid a steady rise in demand for the brand.
It highlighted a particularly strong Christmas period, with sales up 158% for the week prior to Christmas in 2023 compared to the same week a year earlier.
The brand said it was buoyed by many drinkers switching between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during festive celebrations.
We have particularly found real momentum there where we have been able to bring our draught beers to pubs
Ms Heal said that the business feels there is still plenty of room for the market to grow.
“In the UK, the amount of non-alcoholic beer being bought is still significantly below levels elsewhere in Europe,” she said.
“Currently in supermarkets it represents about 6% of all beer and we can see that growing towards 10%.
“And we are seeing a lot of growth potential in pubs too.
“We have particularly found real momentum there where we have been able to bring our draught beers to pubs.”
New research from the company highlighted a change in the habits of alcohol consumption in the UK, particularly in hospitality venues.
It found that almost two-thirds, 62%, of Britons said they feel comfortable to go to the pub without drinking alcohol.
However, this found that women were particularly more comfortable without alcohol, at 69%, compared to only 56% of men.