03-03-2025
Non-alcoholic lagers added to meal deals as lunchtime beers take on new meaning
Traditionally the phrase 'lunchtime beers' meant a pint in the afternoon sun on a Friday for a few stolen hours away from the office. Yet supermarkets are now asking the public to reimagine the phrase and sup a can of lager at their desks instead.
Sainsbury's has begun selling alcohol-free beers as part of its lunchtime meal deals, meaning shoppers can now opt for a Lucky Saint lager or a Corona Cero with their sandwich and crisps, replacing the traditional Diet Coke or Dr Pepper.
The move comes amid surging popularity of the drinks more broadly. Sales of booze-free beers, wines and spirits jumped by 15pc to £320m last year, according to data from NIQ. An additional 95.5m litres of the stuff was sold.
In pubs, meanwhile, more than 120m pints of low and non-alcoholic beers were poured in 2023, a figure that the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said it expected to rise by 20m in 2024.
This surge has been put down to rising levels of sobriety among Gen Z and increasing health consciousness among all ages. About one fifth of people aged 18 to 24 now abstain from alcohol completely, according to Drinkaware.
Luke Boase, the founder of non-alcoholic brewery Lucky Saint, said: 'Five years ago, alcohol-free drinks were about specific moments such as Dry January or midweek occasions. People today are choosing to drink alcohol-free throughout the year and through the week.'
Laura Willoughby, the founder of 'mindful drinking' group Club Soda, said non-alcoholic beers arguably have an advantage over fizzy drinks when it comes to their health impacts.
She said: 'Once you take the alcohol out of beer, it's one of the healthiest things you can drink. It's not an ultra processed food, it's naturally sugar free, it's low in calories, it's rehydrating and it's full of vitamin B12. So there's no surprise it is beginning to eat into the traditional soda space.
'The reason why alcohol-free beer is drunk so much in Spain, where it's 16pc of the beer market, is because it's considered to be hydrating and healthy.'
Now that the drinks have joined the meal deal, it begs the question: is it fine to drink a can of beer at your desk?
