Guinness will increase its non-alcoholic beer production by almost 300% following a €25 million (US$27.2 million) investment in a new manufacturing plant in St. James’s Gate, Dublin, Ireland.

The new factory, including six new processing vessels capable of producing half a million hectoliters (90 million pints), will help meet the increasing global demand for alcohol-beverage-free options.

“Guinness 0.0 is now the number one selling non-alcoholic beer in a four-pack format in both Ireland and Great Britain. This expansion in production capacity at St James’s Gate is a testament to the quality of Guinness 0.0 and the growth of the non-alcoholic category, as consumers look for more choice on different occasions. We expect the growth of Guinness 0.0 to be another export success story for Ireland,” says Barry O’Sullivan, managing director of Diageo Ireland.

Thirst for non-alcohol options
According to Innova Market Insight low and no-alcohol launches account for just over four in ten alcoholic beverage launches, with the launch count of non-alcoholic beverages growing at a faster pace, at 28% CAGR H2 2017 to H1 2022, than the one of alcoholic beverages (11%).

Guinness forecasts that its non-alcohol alternative will reach 10% of all sales in Ireland in the coming years. 

St. James’s Gate is the only place wher Guinness 0.0 is produced for the whole world, and it mainly exports to the UK, Europe, US, Canada, Middle East and South Korea.

Guinness forecasts that its non-alcohol alternative will reach 10% of all sales in Ireland in the coming years.“Guinness 0.0 is one of the most popular non-alcoholic beers in this pub. It’s a great tasting alternative for those that want to experience the atmosphere and craic in the pub without any alcohol. I imagine this demand will continue to grow as the availability and quality of non-alcoholic products becomes more widespread,” says Oliver Barden, publican of O’Donoghue’s.

Zero alcohol boom
As health and wellness trends gain popularity, more consumers are opting for non-alcoholic beverages that offer a satisfying taste without the negative effects of alcohol.

Low and no-alcohol celebrations for St Patrick’s Day picked up as moderate drinking gathers pace, John Kelly, strategy director for a beverage at Kerry, told us that the pace of growth of the no-alcohol category will grow faster than in the next few years compared to the 2018-2022 period.

The zero-alcohol market is led mainly by Generation Z, who seek zero-alcohol alternatives in social gatherings, motivated by health and wellness concerns associated with alcohol consumption.

Major brewers, like Guinness, Asahi and Heineken, are taking note of this shift toward teetotalism and responding by releasing zero-percent versions of their leading brands.

Earlier this year, Lucky Saint netted US$12.2 million in a series A funding round for its zero-alcohol beer.