Dry January is Big Bucks for Booze Makers

Dry January. This sounds like the next scary impact of climate change. In fact, it is partly a personal challenge and partly a social movement.

Dry January refers to the growing trend to take a break from drinking this month. Consider it a four-week vacation for your liver.

But this doesn't mean detox. Instead, the creators say the goal is to reframe your relationship with alcohol as “a conscious choice, not the default.”

This may seem like bad news for wine sales — which are already suffering a post-holiday slump — but in reality, Dry January is a way wine sellers can take advantage of it. half a billion dollars market.

Why ask why? Try to dry.

Although the Dry January trend has been going on for a while now, it has actually been in existence in some form or another for decades. In 1942, Finland promoted “Rytas tammiku” or “Sober January” as a way of balancing resources.

It took its current form in 2013 when the London-based charity Alcohol Change UK launched it as a personal challenge.

Since then, searches for “Dry January” have increased rapidly to an average of 18,000 per month. However, in a sign that people are just as bad at planning as I am, searches appear only nearby January.

And that seasonality is masking the popularity by dragging down the monthly averages. Take a look at these screenshots from SEO tool Ahrefs and you'll see that there were over 140,000 searches in January 2023.

But are those searches converting into participants? According to a survey by business intelligence firm Morning Consult, 21% of Americans over the age of 21 will attempt Dry January this year.

A separate survey by NielsenIQ puts it closer to 44% of American adults.

That's a big group of drunk shoppers!

So, what does this mean for wine makers and sellers?

Businesses and participants turn to non-alcohol alternatives

A common complaint you'll hear from participants is that alcohol is looking for a replacement for the sense of community and ritual that comes with drinking.

People still want to meet colleagues at bars. They still want that formal first sip that transitions from work to play.

And so, the rise of Dry January also increases the demand for non-alcohol options.

This makes this movement a great introduction for new consumers to the non-alcohol beverage market, which has annual domestic sales topping $510 million, according to Nielsen.

This represents a 31% increase in sales year-on-year.

Globally, IWSR puts retail sales of low- and non-alcoholic beverages at $13 billion annually.

This is enough to make some major brands aware and take notice. White Claw, Tanqueray, Guinness and even Budweiser have all begun offering non-alcohol versions of their products.

Even celebs are getting in on the action. Blake Lively, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue and Bella Hadid have recently launched lines of alcohol-free wines or spirits.

And the data shows this trend is unlikely to end. A 2023 Gallup poll found that the percentage of young adults (18 to 34) who drink alcohol – Sometimes – In the last two decades it has fallen from 72% to only 62%.

But if you're too late to join Dry January, don't panic. You have plenty of time to plan your Sober October.