Executive Briefing
The pressure is on for non-alc startups
It’s a must-win Dry January in a can’t-lose year for the category.
By Dan Frommer on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 8:00 am
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The mass commercialization of Dry January, I suppose, was inevitable. This month, I’ve already been marketed decaf coffee, weed drinks, and — of course — many varieties of nonalcoholic beverages, using the Dry January hook.
How many people “do” Dry January? The numbers I’ve seen are all over the place: Last year, 15% of US consumers (down from 19% in 2022) according to Morning Consult polling; 35% in 2022 according to NielsenIQ’s CGA; 27% “very likely” last year, up from 2022, according to CivicScience (concentrated among younger consumers).
These are surveys, so they only reflect what people say — not what they do. Let’s assume the percentage of drinkers who actually abstain for the whole month is somewhere between 5% and 10% — not massive, but still significant.
Perhaps more important, it’s an undeniable part of the cultural conversation. In the US, Google search queries for Dry January set a new high this year, while January searches for Whole30 — a more elaborate “reset” — seem to be on the decline.
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Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.
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