How to promote your alcohol-free drinks range
Giving up alcohol is a lifestyle choice for an increasing number of people who are more conscious of their health and wellbeing. The quality and choice of low/no drinks has improved significantly for consumers looking to moderate their intake.
With awareness peaking as people make New Year’s resolutions, or sign up to Alcohol Change’s Dry January, promoting your range effectively will help you stand out and attract their custom.
1. Familiarise yourself with the category. Not just the styles and taste, but the nuances of what the alcohol-free and low-alcohol classifications mean, the ingredients and the production techniques, so that you can offer informed advice to customers.
2. Source a good range. Base it on the drinks that are already popular in store. There’s no point in only stocking alcohol-free red wine if white wine accounts for 80% of existing sales.
3. Be creative. Many drinks can be used as the base for tasty alcohol-free cocktails or successfully paired with food. Draw on information producers share on their websites or social media channels and consider hosting a discovery event for people to explore and experiment.
4. Make them easy to find. Don’t hide your low or no-alcohol drinks among their full-strength equivalents. Bring them out front and centre so customers can see them straight away.
5. Promote through all your usual channels. People will want to stock up with alcohol-free options before January 1, so start using social media, website, newsletters and local publicity channels now and work that window display.
Having a great range of low and no-alcohol drinks has the potential to increase your customer base, including drinkers and non-drinkers, so plan your January campaign well and you could reap the benefits all year
