According to new statistics from Nielsen IQ, the non-alcoholic portion of the adult beverage industry in the United States is flourishing.

A new report from the analytics company, non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits sales at off-premise locations like grocery stores increased 31% over the previous year to $510 million. The growth is attributed to Americans’ rising emphasis on wellness and moderation in their drinking habits.

Although sales of non-alcoholic beverages often increase the greatest in January, when many drinkers abstain from alcohol in observance of Dry January, NIQ researchers noted that NA drinks “are now a staple during all major drinking holidays, especially the 4th of July and year-end celebrations.”

Notably, the vast majority of people who buy NA goods also buy alcoholic beverages. According to NIQ’s data, “over 94% of Non-Alcoholic buyers are also purchasing alcohol-containing Beer, Wine, and Spirits, meaning these buyers are highly engaged with Beverage Alcohol resulting in providing more value to Total Alcohol.”

Non-alcoholic adult beverage sales increased by double digits in terms of dollars spent over the last 12 months in all nine areas of the U.S. examined by the survey, although five states accounted for 30% of the total.

California led the way in sales ($85.7 million), with Colorado coming in second ($19.2 million), Massachusetts third ($18 million), Michigan fourth ($15.1 million), and Ohio fifth ($15 million). Sales of NA options increased dramatically in Ohio (by 44.8%) and Michigan (by 37.7%).

With 86.1% of the market, non-alcoholic beer leads the industry, followed by NA wine with 11.2%. Sales of alcohol-free spirits, which only account for 2.7% of total sales, are up 94% from a year earlier, mostly due to the growth of NA vodka (528.1%).

Customers are increasingly selecting alcohol-free choices at pubs and restaurants in addition to purchasing NA beverages at off-premise retailers. 25% of clients under the age of 35 who consume alcohol on-site drink non-alcoholic alternatives, or around 1 in 7 total customers. When visiting on-premise serving locations, over half of non-drinkers sip on both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

According to NIQ, the main reason consumers stated for choosing non-alcoholic beverages was that they “like the flavour,” while the second most popular reason was “I want to share in the experience of drinking with others.”

SOURCE: Yahoo Finance
PHOTO CREDIT: Nielsen IQ