Cheers! An alcohol-free off-licence for sober Gen Z

CHRISTMAS is traditionally a season of excess but younger party-goers are eschewing the hedonism of their older peers. They are more likely to opt for a sober night and skip the hangover, the latest data showed.

Now, the UK’S first alcohol free offlicence has opened in London to cater to those Generation-z teetotallers.

Owner Laura Willoughby, 40, said this cohort has seen their parents “stinking of chardonnay” on the sofa and were not impressed. Her Club Soda off-licence, tasting room and bar, on London’s Drury Lane that stocks a range of alcohol-free beers and taps into a study by Drinkaware that found 26 per cent of 16- to 25-year-olds do not drink.

“Their social behaviour is very different,” said Ms Willoughby. “They’re far more interested in finding experiences when they go out. Just going into the pub for a pint is not considered a good night out anymore.”

However, Ms Willoughby points out that it is not only young people who are interested in alcohol-free drinks, with older generations equally beginning to realise the toll heavy drinking takes. “We had a problem that was looking for a solution,” she said.

However, while Gen Z is more abstinent, its quota of problem drinkers is the same as for other age groups.

Annabel Bonus, the lead researcher at Drinkaware, said: “What is interesting with that age group [24-40] is there is also a cohort who are still drinking at risky levels and we have seen an increase this year in that group.”

She said Gen Z could even be overlooked by public health initiatives because of their reputation for abstinence.

“People say you don’t need to worry about young people – the data show we do. Habits are formed early in life. When the government does come to renew the alcohol strategy young people must not be forgotten,” she warned.