Growing awareness of the importance of health and wellness, both physical and mental, is a nation-wide and global phenomenon, driven by a range of factors including aging populations, younger generations embracing more mindful living, global influencers like Gwyneth Paltrow and her Goop platform, the Covid pandemic which shone a light on the additional vulnerabilities created by poor health, developments in the pharmaceutical and tech industries, and marketing in general seeking to grow new markets for new products and services.

In the UK, taking more personal responsibility for individual wellness is one answer to a growing range of national maladies – from increased financial pressures and growing anxiety, to a weakened NHS, to a lack of social support for the unwell and incapacitated.

Yet the headlines behind the health & wellness hype suggest that awareness is not translating into action at the levels it should be. Across 2024, a selection of articles in the Guardian highlighted that there are 20,000 people off work every month because of mental health; that obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other diseases are all affecting people at younger ages; and that the UK’s growing addiction to unhealthy food costs £268bn a year – more than the budget for the whole NHS.

But more concerning was the headline: “Britain has a problem that it won’t face up to: children’s dangerous relationship with alcohol” which highlighted that Great Britain has the world’s highest rate of child alcohol consumption and that the UK’s alcohol-specific death rate was 14.8 per 100,000 population in 2021, up from 12.0 in 2011.

If behaviour-change initiatives like Dry January and Sober October and trends like sober-curiosity aren’t having a big enough impact, does more need to be done to make sobriety a more compelling proposition across the whole of British culture?

Drinking less feels good 

Cutting back on alcohol consumption appears to be something more people are doing to support better mental and physical wellbeing: 32% of people we surveyed across generations say they are drinking less often than they used to, and the benefits are clear: 36% people feel physically better and 32% feel mentally better.

But ‘Brand Alcohol’ has more positive associations than ‘Brand Sobriety’ 

When asked to select the words they associated with alcohol and sobriety, more people had more net positive associations with alcohol (76%) than with sobriety (63%). In fact positive associations such as socialising, fun and relaxing are all more associated with alcohol than with sobriety. Control was the most positive association respondents had with Sobriety.

Alcohol also has more negative associations than sobriety does

Not only do people have more net negative associations with alcohol (30%) than sobriety (12%), drinking alcohol also comes with fears, especially for younger audiences. Spending too much money, physical pain, personal embarrassment and losing control are concerns for around a quarter of Gen Z and Millennials. Only a quarter of these two cohorts have no fears associated with alcohol.

But what do we do when we’re not drinking? 

Respondents see alcohol playing an important role across many situations, most especially celebrations, socialising and relaxing, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that 26% of people who have cut back on their drinking are socialising less than they used to. As a result, 9% report feeling more isolated and only 9% have discovered new hobbies.

And what do we drink when we’re not drinking alcohol? 

While 32% of people surveyed said they are drinking less alcohol than a year ago, only 12% are drinking more NoLo drinks than a year ago. The reasons for drinking NoLo varies across generations: Younger audiences drink them to feel socially engaged with others who are drinking alcohol, while older generations drink them to avoid getting drunk.

NoLo to the rescue?

While alcohol brands have a duty to help consumers drink responsibly, it is perhaps more of an opportunity for NoLo brands to become the champions of sobriety, driving new attitudes and behaviours among adults that can filter down to younger generations and wider culture.

How can NoLo be additive? 

0.0%, free-from, reduced… research has even suggested that younger audiences think no-lows should cost less because they don’t contain alcohol. How can the industry shift perceptions to amplify more of what NoLo alcohol variants bring to the table? Taste, experience, quality, craft, moments, brand values and beliefs, pours and serves are all characteristics owned by the alcohol category that can also be claimed by NoLo brands.

How can control become more appealing? 

If control is the number 1 association with sobriety, no-low brands need to do more to evolve this narrative to show the attractive side of control, i.e. the upsides of drinking less, like improved mental and physical health and the resulting energy and capacity to do more, experience more, fear less, spend less and regret less. With 23% of people worrying that their drinking affects their mental health, control becomes less about restraint and more about proactive self-care.

How can NoLo support more sober-based activities?

Cutting back on drinking leaves a hole in many people’s social activities, leading to boredom and even isolation. How can NoLo brands not just sponsor new sports or events but amplify a whole new set of behaviours and activities in ways that take root in wider culture.

How can NoLo become more visible and thus first-choice? 

We all know about happy hour… but isn’t it time NoLo and sobriety claim happiness for themselves through innovative activations in the on-trade? Deals and promotions and bartender’s recommendations are two ways consumers discover new drinks brands to try, so are obvious opportunities for NoLo brands to put themselves in front of consumers. But influencers, partnerships, merchandise, out of home in relevant footfall locations and even infiltrating meme culture can start to build more visibility and normalise NoLo as a first choice when drinking occasions arise.