3 days ago
Sales of non-alcoholic Guinness surged 35% last year
Sales of non-alcoholic
Guinness 0.0
across can, draught and micro-draught cans in pubs, hotels and restaurants across Ireland increased by 35 per cent in the year to March, new data from
Diageo Ireland
shows.
The increase comes on top of 47 per cent growth of draught Guinness 0.0 in Ireland the previous year. Having been introduced to Irish venues on draught in July 2021, the product is now available in 4,000 on-trade establishments across Ireland.
The drinks giant also said it has seen a 161 per cent lift in sales of the brand on draught between June 2022 and March 2025.
Diageo said this growth is 'set to continue' into 2026 when the additional €30 million investment announced late last year into Guinness 0.0 production capacity comes on stream.
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This will allow the St James's Gate brewery to brew 176 million pints of Guinness 0.0 a year for international and domestic markets, Diageo said.
Ross Bissett, on-trade commercial director at Diageo Ireland, said the growth of the product demonstrates the 'enormous appetite' consumers have for 'greater choice in what they are consuming'.
'Following our recent investment announcement of €30 million in Guinness 0.0 production, we expect it to take up about 12 per cent of all production at St James's Gate,' he added.
Cathal Sheridan, who is the seventh generation of his family to run Sheridan's Bar and Restaurant in Milltown, Co Galway, said he has seen 'huge demand' for Guinness 0.0, with customers 'making the most of being able to have a few pints and be able to drive home'.
'That's something that's really important in Ireland as rural isolation becomes a bigger problem,' he said. 'It's also key for the future of rural pubs as we try to encourage folks through the door.'
The demand for non-alcoholic products has been seen across the board, with Kantar's recent data showing that 6.2 per cent of all Irish households purchasing non-alcoholic drinks in January.
That data was backed up by a recent Drinks Industry Group of Ireland report that found the average amount of alcohol consumed by adults in Ireland had fallen by 31 per cent since 2001.
