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Success in the crowded hospitality industry depends on a business's ability to identify what their guests want by staying on top of the latest trends. One of these trends is that more people are choosing to give up alcohol. Roughly 3.1m people in the UK planned to take on Dry January at the start of 2018 while data from the Office for National Statistics last year revealed that the proportion of adults who say they drink alcohol is at the lowest level on record - only 56.9% of respondents aged 16 and over had a drink in the week before being questioned.
With this in mind, it's essential that pubs, bars and late-night venues seek to diversify their soft drink offering to appeal to this growing group. The right offering could prove lucrative - a survey we conducted discovered that 47% of guests would be very likely or quite likely to purchase a premium non-alcoholic beverage, such as a premium juice or carbonated drink, at a higher cost.
Additionally, there is the continuing wellness trend to consider as guests look to embrace healthier lifestyles with 74% of guests seeking healthier alternatives in pubs. Our own research revealed that a significant 67% of guests would be very likely or quite likely to choose a low sugar or sugar-free option when purchasing a drink in a pub and 80% of guests believe that pubs promote these low sugar alternatives poorly.
The soft drink sector is booming with research from CGA revealing a rise of 27.8% value growth in premium soft drinks - premium drinks are growing by more than one quarter year-on-year. Operators that ensure they not only offer guests a variety of healthy, premium beverages but promote their range effectively, using their website and social media to tap into the tech-friendly millennial crowd, are likely to reap the benefits in 2018.
