UK – Diageo, the global beverage giant, has commenced a longer-term test sale of its non-alcoholic Guinness on draught in the UK, marking a significant step in expanding the availability of Guinness 0.0 in on-trade locations.
The zero-alcohol stout is being offered at The Devonshire pub in Soho, London, priced at £6.35 (US$8.34) per pint.
According to Diageo, the product will remain on tap until early 2025 with the possibility of extending the trial.
This initiative follows a smaller, three-day trial of the non-alcoholic stout on draught at The George pub in Fitzrovia, London, in March 2023.
Diageo has hailed this latest push with Guinness 0.0 as a “momentous moment for on-trade expansion in the UK.”
Anna MacDonald, Guinness marketing director for Diageo’s Great Britain division, expressed enthusiasm for the trial, stating, “We’re thrilled to be trialling Guinness 0.0 at a select number of pubs in GB, including The Devonshire – a priority stop for any Guinness fans in London.”
MacDonald also hinted at plans to introduce Guinness 0.0 to more pubs across the country throughout the year.
Currently, draught Guinness 0.0 is available at stadiums across England hosting Premier League football matches and was also sold on tap at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, London, during the Six Nations international men’s rugby tournament earlier this year.
Prior to this expansion in the UK, Diageo focused on building the brand’s on-tap presence in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The company reports that 0.0% Guinness is permanently available on draught in over 1,600 on-trade locations across the island.
In 2023, Diageo announced plans to boost production capacity for Guinness 0.0 with a €25 million (US$27.7 million) investment into its St. James’s Gate brewery in Dublin, Ireland.
The investment aimed at constructing a two-story building featuring six processing vessels, with a total production capacity of 500,000 hectolitres.
The company claims this cash injection will increase production capacity by 300%.
The expansion comes at a time when the no-alcohol market in the UK is experiencing significant growth.
According to the latest Bevtrac consumer data from IWSR, the no-alcohol drinker population grew by 17 percent in 2023, with expectations for continued growth at a 4 percent volume CAGR from 2023 to 2028.
For the year ending June 30, 2024, Diageo reported a 1.4 percent decline in net sales, amounting to US$20.3 billion attributed to unfavorable foreign exchange impacts and an organic net sales decline.
The company’s organic operating profit fell by US$304 million (4.8%), largely driven by a significant downturn in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
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