Lots of Londoners used to be mostly drunk by this point in February. But not so much in 2024, it seems. After a record Dry January — which an estimated 8.5 million in the UK tried last month — many of us are trying something that’s historically not been very British: drinking in moderation.
And it’s Gen Z who are leading the charge. While so many of us had misspent youths sneaking booze on park benches, Gen Z are far more sensible, avoiding drinking from the off. Last week, the chief executive of Rekom, the UK’s largest nightclub operator, blamed the drop in Gen Z’s alcohol consumption, and their unwillingness to go out during the week, for the closure of 17 of their venues. York University has a “sober society”, eschewing bar crawls for games nights and coffee shop crawls instead.
Laura Willoughby, who runs Club Soda, a non and low-alcohol bar in Covent Garden, says “more people are moderating” their drinking now. Willoughby thinks a big reason is the cost-of-living crisis: her own bar also saw lower footfall last month. She says young people have less money than other generations — but the shift is also cultural, as they are making the choice not to get wasted, with their role models leading the way.
While actors used to drink hard for years, and then sober up when their careers were going downhill, now they shape up in their prime. Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, 27, told Jay Shetty’s podcast last year that quitting booze is “the best thing I’ve ever done”. For a while, having a drink had been all Holland could think about, making him realise he had an “alcohol thing”. Interestingly, he found it easier to quit in America, because of British drinking culture with his rugby friends.
While Holland may have struggled in the UK, industry insiders are definitely noticing a shift in Britain’s boozy culture. The dominant trend is that more people are keeping an eye on their intake. In fact more than one in four UK adults want to cut down on the amount they drink this year. Making non-alcoholic options attractive has been a big factor, says Willoughby. “Nobody wants to have a lame looking drink” Willoughby says.
She hates the word “mocktails”, which she thinks undermines the “equality of the serve” between alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. Willoughby says London is at the forefront of the moderation movement, reeling off low alcohol companies like Everleaf, Thompson & Scott, Zena, and Nirvana, all of which were born here.
“London is where the innovation started,” she says. Willoughby became interested in the low alcohol business after falling out of love with booze. She worked in “a career chiefly driven by cheap white wine”. Her father died due to alcohol, she says, which also influenced her own decision to give up 11 years ago. Willoughby says that mental and physical health is the main driver for her customers, many of whom still drink, but in moderation. Club Soda closes at around 10pm, as non-drinkers don’t like to stay out so late.
Supermarket sales of non-alcoholic drinks confirm the trend. Tesco said last week that demand for no and low-alcohol drinks increased by nearly 10 per cent this January compared with last year — with sales of no and low-alcohol spirits up nearly 40 per cent. The rise was even higher around Christmas. Meanwhile, sales of Kylie Minogue’s no-alcohol sparkling rosé are up 75 per cent despite mediocre reviews. Other celebrities with low to no-alcohol brands include Blake Lively, Bella Hadid, and ex-rugby star Jonny Wilkinson. As of this year, companies will be allowed to sell “pint-sized” bottles of wine, which are also likely to help people to drink in moderation.
“There is definitely a big cultural conversation happening about the benefits of reducing how much you drink,” says Joe Marley from the charity Alcohol Change UK, who says moderation is having a “real moment”. Even Kate Moss, the legendary party-head, celebrated her 50th last month with a “spiritual retreat” — while fellow former caners Lily Allen and Cara Delevingne are also much more sedate these days. But even these trendsetters are behind the curve of a younger generation. Alcohol Change UK, which first came up with the concept of Dry January, says a record number of people have downloaded their Try Dry phone app recently, while one in four people the charity surveyed said they wanted to reduce how much they drink in 2024. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) have found similar record interest in going dry, and recommended struggling pubs stock more low-alcohol products to improve custom.
Unlike in earlier years, it seems the change often isn’t just for one month, but longer term. Marley says that many people who do Dry January are using it as a “complete reset”. They report many benefits — improved sleep and concentration, better relationships with partners and family, and “getting back control” of their lives. That’s not to mention financial savings — he estimates that people who gave up booze last month saved an average of £118.
Former hard-partying Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews started a low alcohol spirits brand, CleanCo, which has been doing good business recently. “I see so many more people talking about their relationship with alcohol, whether that’s being teetotal or moderating,” he says. “More and more public figures and industry leaders are talking about their alcohol-free and sober-curious lives and the benefits that this brings.”
One criticism of the sobriety “movement” is that it could be a largely middle-class concern. Joe Marley admits that people with “high levels of education” are more likely to take part in Dry January, while alcohol deaths in the UK remain high.
But drinking in moderation is definitely on the rise. Christy Osborne is a London-based sobriety coach and got into the job after realising that she was drinking too much. “A slow uptick” increased when she became a mother, until she finally became “sick and tired of feeling awful all the time”. She now runs one-on-one classes and group sessions, to help people talk about their relationship with booze. “I’m not concentrating on the individual completely abstaining” she says. “What I am interested in is changing their mindset about alcohol, and figuring out if they feel better without it.”
Osborne thinks that drinking could slowly reduce even further. “I think in 10 years or so alcohol is going to go the way of the cigarette right where it’s like, not cool — a dumb thing to do — because more and more people know how bad it is for us”. Could she be right?
