Dry January spurred record non-alcoholic drink sales at Soho House

Dry January is boosting the sales of non-alcoholic drinks at companies like Soho House.Soho House’s CEO said the company saw its biggest ever spike in mocktail sales in January.Bars were hit hard by Dry January, with sales in the UK down 11.5% compared with 2023.

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Dry January — the annual rite of atonement that involves temporarily swapping cocktails for non-alcoholic libations — is becoming so popular that it’s showing up on Wall Street’s radar.

On Friday, the head of the exclusive hotel and social club chain Soho House said the company saw a record rise in non-alcoholic drink sales during this year’s Dry January. The bump came even as members spent slightly less than last year on food and beverages in the three months before January.

“What we also saw in January was a much bigger spike in non-alcoholic beverage consumption, much more than we’ve ever seen before,” said Andrew Carnie, the chief executive officer of Soho House, on the company’s earnings call.

The company did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

In addition to boozy, classic cocktails, Soho House, which has 44 club locations from London to Bangkok, serves a variety of “no and low” alcohol options, such as virgin versions of an Old Fashioned and a Moscow Mule. The company also offers alcohol-free draft beer and non-alcoholic wine, according to its website.

The Soho House brand has long prided itself on being associated with all things cool and en vogue — and the low-to-no booze trend is no exception.

In early February, data company CivicScience polled 1,500 US-based adults over the age of 21 about their drinking habits. A quarter of those surveyed said they took part in Dry January this year

The non-alcoholic drinks market is expected to make up nearly four percent of the current $517 billion overall alcohol market by 2027, according to beverage research company ISWR.

Non-alcoholic beverages aren’t just for teetotalers — many consumers are looking to swap some drinks out. Millennials are the most interested in non-alcoholic drinks, compared with older and younger peers, per ISWR.

Celebrities including Blake Lively, Katy Perry, and Bella Hadid have all recently launched lines of alcohol-free wines or spirits.

This January was one of the driest and bleakest months for pubs across the UK as more people gave up booze and bad weather lowered foot traffic, The Guardian reported. UK bar revenues in January were down 11.5% compared with the same period in 2023, according to market researcher CGA.

The trend of staying sober at the beginning of the year was launched in 2013 as a campaign by British charity Alcohol Change to promote the benefits of cutting back on alcohol.

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