A Cornish brewery has reported "record-breaking sales" since the start of the year after a surge in demand for its alcohol-free beer.
Launceston-based Firebrand Brewing Co said the first few months of the year are typically the quietest time for the business, but this year it experienced its busiest-ever January.
The brewery's alcohol-free sales were up 12% on last January and 11% on December, while the company said it had seen a 227% increase in subscriptions to alcohol-free beers since the start of the year.
READ MORE: {}
Joe Thompson, co-owner and head brewer at Firebrand Brewing Co, said: “We have been brewing beer since 2013 and have become used to the traditional patterns of business.
"In the past, most of our revenue was generated in the summer beer drinking months, with another spike around Christmas. Meanwhile, the first few months of the year were always very quiet. Since we started adding alcohol-free beer to our range, things have changed and this year has been the busiest January ever.”
Mr Thompson started brewing non-alcoholic beers after he started running and wanted an alternative to his daily pint.
"Our first non-alcoholic beer, Shorebreak, felt like a nice niche addition to the range at the time," he said. "Now it is our best seller and has dramatically changed the pattern of our year-round sales. Although our overall sales are still heavily weighted toward the summer months, Shorebreak and our more recently launched non-alcoholic lager, Little Wave, do a lot of the heavy lifting to support us in the quieter months at the beginning of the year.”
The news comes as the non-alcoholic drinks market continues to rocket. A report by IWSR, a global drinks data and insight provider, found the 海角视频's no-to-low alcohol market more than doubled in 2024 versus 2023 and no-alcohol beer sales grew 20% in the same period.
Most Read
Mr Thompson added: “Alcohol-free drinks used to be confined to 'dry January' and midweek occasions but that has all changed in the last few years so we are seeing much more consistent sales throughout the year than we do with our core beers and we continue to enjoy significant growth annually.
"This January, Shorebreak appeared on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen and was named ‘Best Alcohol-Free Beer’ by The Guardian, which boosted sales even more. We had to work overtime to fulfil all our orders. That’s not something a traditional brewer would expect to do in January. It used to be the month that we spent catching up on maintenance and admin.”
Like this story? Why not sign up to get the latest South West business news straight to your inbox.