‘Zebra striping’ is predicted to be the hottest trend in summer drinking as alcohol moderation gathers pace.

What on earth is ‘zebra striping’? It’s a new name for people alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks within a single visit.

While it would have previously been defined as alternating an alcoholic drink with water or a soft drink, the new iteration sees consumers switch between full-strength alcohol and zero-alcohol brands.

And it presents a big opportunity for both drinks companies and the hospitality industry, as it’s about moderation rather than simply being a strategy to save money on drinks orders.

According to research consultancy firm KAM, one in four UK drinkers are zebra striping when they visited pubs and bars.

KAM Managing Director Katy Moses said: “What’s key is that a decrease in alcohol consumption doesn’t mean a decrease in the demand for great experiences in pubs, bars, and restaurants. People don’t want to miss out on all the occasions where alcohol is normally present — going to the pub with friends, celebrating a birthday, enjoying a beer while watching sport, for example.”

According to KAM venues need to display their no-alcohol offerings more prominently, as one in four zebra-stripe customers are defaulting to water because they can’t see alternatives.

“Operators need to be ensuring that every customer – whether they’re drinking alcohol or not – is getting a quality drink,” KAM’s Katie Jenkins said.

“And customers are prepared to pay for the privilege.”

The moderation trend has also enjoyed strong growth in the US. In 2023, overall volumes rose by 29% versus 2022, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis data, well ahead of low-alcohol (+7%). 

The growth was driven by no-alcohol beer/cider, which accounts for 81% of servings and rose in volume terms by +30% in the year. Meanwhile, no-alcohol wine volumes increased by +18%, with the smaller spirits and RTD segments showing dynamic growth, up +32% and +36% respectively. The emerging alcohol adjacents sub-category was up +15% on the year. 

“An increasing consumer focus on moderation, health and wellness is having a positive impact on all no-alcohol sub-categories, with growth rates higher than their full-strength equivalents,” says Susie Goldspink, Head of No- and Low-Alcohol Insights, IWSR. 

Demand for no-alcohol products in the US is particularly strong among younger legal age cohorts, with Millennials accounting for 45% of no-alcohol consumers in 2023; however, this figure is down on the 2022 figure of 51%, thanks to an increase in the share of LDA Gen Z consumers (17% in 2023, up from 11% in 2022). 

This in turn is driving an increase in the number of substituters among no-alcohol consumers – those who replace full-strength with no-alcohol on a specific occasion.  

“Legal aged Gen Zs are more likely to fall into the substituters group than abstainers. This means that increasingly, the new younger LDA recruits to no/low are not “all or nothing” – they switch between alcohol and other products, rather than avoiding alcohol altogether,” comments Goldspink. 

“This presents different kinds of opportunities for brand extensions, and we will likely see more blurring between products, such as hard seltzer brands increasingly offering no-alcohol versions of their full-strength ABV products.”

Gordon’s launches zebra-striping campaign

A new campaign from Gordon’s aims to normalise moderation by empowering consumers to ‘mix it up’ and switch between Gordon’s Pink and Gordon’s Pink 0.0% in the same occasion.

‘Mix It Up’ is the first Gordon’s campaign to bring both Gordon’s Pink and Gordon’s Pink alcohol-free variants together in one ad.

The TVC invites viewers to join an evening out with a group of friends. As the group begin to drink their Gordon’s & Tonic, the screen splits in two to visually demonstrate how they choose to pace their night by switching between Gordon’s Pink and Gordon’s Pink 0.0%, all while having a great time together.

Gordon’s global head of marketing Tayara Sousa Linke said: “When creating this campaign, we wanted to demonstrate that moderation didn’t have to be a binary decision between having something alcoholic or alcohol free. We know that this perceived choice impacts people’s decision to moderate, so, through Mix It Up, we wanted to highlight that it is possible to seamlessly switch between the two and enjoy the same great taste of Gordon’s Pink whilst moderating with Gordon’s Pink Alcohol Free.”

Watch the ad here.