This was confirmed via a report from Drinks Ireland/Beer, an ibec group with represents the drinks sector, adding that non-alcoholic beer has a 2% market share of the entire Irish beer market.
They have also reported a 50% increase in the production of non-alcoholic beer, in response to an increase in consumer demand, while non-alcoholic beer also reached almost 14% market share in Spain.
The report also states that Irish producers remain confident that Ireland is set to see similar market increases of non-alcoholic beverages, supporting the industry. This is good news for the government, as they aim to increase moderation.
"This growth is driven by increased availability and awareness of non-alcohol beers, as well as consumer demand for moderation and balance. This continues to be a positive trend within the industry that needs ongoing support to grow", said Director of Drinks Ireland Cormac Healy.
Beer remains Ireland's favourite alcoholic drink, with a 42.9% market share last year.
As for beer categories, Lager remains the key one for Ireland, despite seeing a 2% decrease in market share. Elsewhere, stout's market share has skyrocketed from 2.6% to 35.6% in 2023, with ale's share also seeing a marginal increase of 4%.
This report also states that Ireland's per capita beer consumption dropped hugely in 2023, to a point that it is now lower than in the UK, and most European countries, including France, Spain and Germany. There has been a decrease of 11% in beer per capita consumption in this country since 2019.
Elsewhere, Cormac Healy added that while there has been a decrease in beer consumption, it reflects the overall trend of a decrease in alcohol consumption.
"We know that over the last two decades, per-capita consumption of alcohol has fallen by 30%", he said. "And then aligned I suppose really to that development, that consumer trend is what we see as significant growth, continued growth in the non-alcohol beer category".
