With January over, with it for many also goes Dry January, a challenge started by Alcohol Change UK, a charity working to end alcohol harm. In 2024, over 215,000 people participated in Dry January, and that number is expected to have increased this year.
For some, especially those part of Gen Z, giving up alcohol goes beyond the winter challenge, with 39% of 18-24 year olds not drinking alcohol at all. At the beginning of January, Aldi launched new alcohol-free drinks to meet demands, and have since shared that 2025 was the supermarket’s biggest Dry January to date.
The budget store launched new 0% cocktail cans for just 79p, as well as a 70cl bottle of 0% gin for £7.99. They also offered shoppers the choice of alcohol-free rosé, prosecco, beer and cider.
Now, Aldi has revealed they saw a 190% increase in sales year-on-year of its best-selling Zerozecco range, selling over 200,000 glasses of 0% fizz in the first two weeks of January.
More than 40,000 bottles and cans of its 0% beer range were sold every day, and supermarkets sold more than 100 alcohol-free cocktail cans an hour.
On social media, shoppers shared their love for Aldi’s low and no range. One woman on TikTok called the Zerozecco “the perfect alternative to a glass of prosecco.”
A YouGov survey with The Portman Group released this month found over a third of UK drinkers consume low and no alcohol beverages semi regularly.
Health appears to be one of the driving factors, with 29% of low and no drinkers citing collective ‘health and medical’ concerns as a key reason for choosing an alcohol alternative – an increase of almost a third (32%) when compared to 2021 (22%).
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, said: “At Aldi, we are dedicated to providing high-quality, affordable alcohol free alternatives for our customers. This surge in sales of our Zerozecco and other non-alcoholic options indicates a growing demand to Dry January and mindful drinking.”