Key Takeaways
How to Keep Sales From Drying Up When Alcohol Consumption is Down
Pros and Cons of the Sober-Curious Movement
Creating a No-Lo Beverage Menu
Like the health-centered resolutions made every year around this time, Dry January is a time for those who have overindulged over the holidays to cut back on their alcohol consumption and embrace a sober-curious lifestyle.
For those who find complete abstinence overly daunting, Damp January offers a reasonable alternative, allowing participants to reassess their drinking habits without going completely dry and quitting cold turkey.
Though Dry January only lasts 31 days, the rise of the NA lifestyle is proving to be a year-round phenomenon. Across the restaurant and beverage industries, nonalcoholic options are no longer an afterthought—they’re becoming an essential offering.
Whether it’s a guest savoring a zero-proof wine at a fine dining establishment, friends exploring alcohol-free cocktails at a casual beer garden, or tourists seeking NA-friendly hotspots while on vacation, the sober movement is reshaping how consumers think about dining.
Pros and Cons of Dry January
One of the primary reasons Dry January has gained in popularity is its association with an array of health benefits. From improved sleep quality and increased energy levels to weight loss and reduced anxiety, the positive impact of this drying out month has led many to view Dry January as a reset button for bad habits.
However, the rise of Dry January hasn’t been without consequences for businesses that rely heavily on alcohol sales. Though restaurants tend to take a hit every January, as consumers choose to stay home or engage in alcohol-free social activities for health and financial reasons, this shift in behavior in recent years has made it increasingly challenging for restaurants to keep sales up when alcohol consumption is down.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the sobering realities surrounding the dry January movement for restaurants and how to get through the month without sales drying up, including:
Stats Surrounding Dry January
NA Beverage Trends for 2025
Embracing the Annual Reset Mode
Ten Strategies for Boosting Beverage Sales During Dry January
Defining No and Low-Alcoholic Beverages
Stats to Consider
26% of Americans plan to drink less in 2025.
47% of consumers site health as the top reason for cutting alcohol from their diet
41% of consumers reduce alcohol consumption to save money.
32% said they want to drink less to live longer
24% want to stop drinking to lose weight
23% want to drink less for their mental health.
Gen Z consumes ⅓ less than millennials
The nonalcoholic beer market grew from $18.5 billion in 2018 to $21.3 billion in 2023.
The nonalcoholic beer category dominates the nonalcoholic adult drinks market, with an 85% share.
58% of consumers drink No-Low and full-strength alcohol on the same occasion
64% of consumers that consume no-low products prefer to drink them at home.
47% of millennials and GenZers believe mocktails are as good as cocktails.
With numbers expected to rise even higher in 2025, savvy restaurants must rise to the challenge along with their guests. Respond to the sober-curious movement by pouring better-tasting and higher-quality alcohol-free cocktails made with fresh ingredients, high-end zero-proof spirits, and the same bar expertise that goes into your boozy beverages.
To prevent your restaurant sales from dampening during the first month of the year, resolve to meet customer demand with creative ideas and healthy beverage options.
Many folks who make a commitment to dry off in January are tempted to simply stay away from restaurants and bars to avoid temptation. Letting your customers know that you fully support their sober-curious desires by offering no and low-alcohol counterparts for those trying to embrace a more sober-conscious lifestyle can help keep sales up even when alcohol consumption is down.
NA Beverage Trends for 2025
Tequila and Agave
Agave-based spirits, which have seen incredible growth over the past decade, with tequila becoming a category favorite in the premium space, is a trend that is set to continue in 2025. Fueled by a changing consumer perception, consumers are becoming more adventurous and experimenting with lesser-known spirits like mezcal and sotol and artisanal production methods, smokier flavor profiles, and links to sustainability.
Health and Wellness Drinks
Tapping into a rise of the low- and no-alcohol category, health and wellness drinks are poised for exponential growth in 2025 with Gen Z’s focus on mental and physical well-being reshaping the way American drinks. With nearly 45% of Gen Z reporting they didn’t consume alcohol at all in 2023, and a significant portion showing a preference for moderation, demand for low- and no-alcoholic spirits has exploded. In 2025, more premium offerings incorporating natural ingredients, adaptogens, and functional botanicals that appeal to this health-conscious demographic will emerge.
Less-is-Better Premiumization
The "Less is Better" Movement has been a growing trend in recent years, and in 2025, it will continue to dominate the spirits sector. Consumers will be willing to pay more for high-quality products, with a focus on craftsmanship, flavor complexity, and brand story. Bacardi’s survey found that 41% of U.S. drinkers aged 21-44 will seek more premium spirits in 2025.
This focus on less consumption aligns with broader shifts in consumer behavior across all alcoholic beverages. Consumers are drinking less frequently, but when they do, they want their drink to be an experience with categories like tequila, whiskey, and rum trending.
RTD (Ready-to-Drink) Spirits
Far from a passing trend, the RTD category has shifted from sugary, mass-market hard seltzers to a more sophisticated offering, with a focus on quality ingredients and well-known spirits. Especially popular with younger, more diverse consumers who value convenience but don’t want to sacrifice quality, premium spirit-based RTDs, including hard seltzers made with premium tequila, whiskey, or gin, will see continued growth.
Flavored Drinks
Continuing to gain traction in 2025, younger consumers looking for new and exciting drinking experiences will turn to flavored spirits. While traditional faves like vanilla and berry will remain popular, unconventional flavors like chili-infused tequilas and dessert-inspired vodkas will take center stage. Expecting a surge in flavors that blur the line between sweet and savory, spirits such as rum, whiskey, and even tequila are poised to capitalize on this trend.
Sustainable Options
As consumers become increasingly eco-aware, sustainability will be a major trend shaping the spirits industry in 2025. Not only looking for transparency in production practices, consumers are actively seeking out brands that prioritize eco-friendly packaging and ethical sourcing. With GenZ driving the trend, 58% of drinkers say sustainability is important when purchasing alcohol. In response, many distillers will embrace renewable energy, reduce water use, and explore alternative packaging solutions like eco-friendly bottles or refillable containers.
Craft Distillation
As consumers' palates evolve, demand for unique, botanically infused spirits is on the rise. Craft distillers are pushing boundaries with combinations of herbs, spices, and other botanicals, moving beyond the traditional profiles of gin and into other spirits categories, offering consumers new flavor experiences and tapping into demand for functional and wellness-oriented drinks.
Annual Reset Mode
While some consumers do choose the first days of the year as a time to get sober permanently, most are just looking for ways to reduce, recharge and reset.
A commitment to more of a “Damp January” than a dry one, many consumers don’t plan to abstain from alcohol completely, but try to take a more moderate approach to their alcohol use instead.
As customers resolve to get healthier in the new year, restaurants can also use January as an opportunity to get the year off to a healthy start.
If your restaurant has yet to tap into the burgeoning no-low alcoholic beverage market, this is the perfect time to whet your customer’s appetite for mocktails or zero-alcoholic malts.
Then, if you find that your customers are receptive in January, consider making your drier menu a permanent part of your offerings. Use sales from January to gauge which drinks are “stars” and menu engineer your beverage menu just as you do your food menu.
Instead of looking at January as a month where sales are sure to dry up, embrace the no-low beverage movement and let it work in your favor. With the right marketing tactics and some creative menu adjustments, Dry January can prove to be one of the most profitable months of the year.
Whether you’re just beginning to tap into the booze-less beverage boom or if you’re looking to expand your existing menu, here are a few tips to help you get started.
10 Strategies for Boosting January Beverage Sales
Because many folks making a commitment to a drier start of the year are tempted to stay away from restaurants and bars to avoid temptation, let your sober-curious customers know that you fully support their efforts by offering no and low-alcohol counterparts.
By catering to the growing market of individuals choosing to abstain from alcohol, businesses are not only accommodating Dry January participants but also diversifying their offerings to appeal to a broader audience.
To prevent sales from drying up during the first month of 2025, resolve to meet customer demand with creative ideas and healthy beverage options.
Host a Mocktail Party and invite the local press for some free PR. Create some excitement around the alcohol-free month by designating one night a week during the month of January to host a Dry January Happy Hour. If these events prove successful, consider continuing these events throughout the year.
Hold a private after-hours no-low wine, beer, and mocktail-tasting event for your loyal customers and staff. Send private evites to keep the number of attendees limited. Then ask each attendee to participate in a survey. Ask which drinks they most prefer and would order during the rest of the year and then ask them to name their price by listing a few options. Finally, use this valuable data to reimagine your beverage menu.
Get Creative with NA Cocktails. By labeling a drink a “mocktail,” and charging a premium, you can easily boost your bottom line by using ingredients already on hand. Instead of adding new items to your inventory, save space and money by reimagining the same ingredients you use for bar drinks to create mocktails.
Experiment with low-cost add-ons and mixes like:
Herb-based savory sodas
Watermelon-infused seltzer
Lime and cucumber water
Hibiscus fizzy tea
Electrolyte mocktails
Virgin martinis
Create a “Green” Beverage Menu. Feed this newfound taste for healthier living with some tempting additions to your cocktail lists. Add fresh juices with health benefits to your existing menu or create a whole new dry menu. Think of it as a vegan menu for sober customers. Just as important as it is to cater to guests with dietary restrictions, use your beverage menu to entice the healthy crowd and attract new business.
Upgrade Your Wine List. For those clients that seek to just drink less, January is the perfect time to offer more premium bottles of wine or focus on investing in the top shelf of the spirits bar (rather than the speed rail).
Train your crew. With crowds diminished, your staff will have more time to spend with their guests in January; so use this time to upsell. Make sure your servers are well-versed in NOLO wine service. Consider hiring a sommelier to teach your staff some of the finer points of your vino lists. This is especially helpful for groups with a mix of guests that are drinking traditional drinks and those participating in Dry January. Provide your staff with a list of ingredients, demonstrate how the drink is prepared, and offer a tasting experience.
Update your delivery menu. Whether you decide to test your new beverage menu options in your dining room first or want to take the leap of offering no-low beverages to your off-premise customers right away, adding non-alcoholic options to your delivery menu is a great way to pique customer interest.
Create a healthy bar menu to complement your Dry January menu. If your diners have decided to drink healthier, they’ll also be looking to up their eating game. Create a special Dry Bar Menu with specials on healthy appetizers that pair well with your alcohol-free mocktails and no-low-alcohol beer and wine options.
Hashtag Dry January. Take full advantage of the marketing surrounding the Dry January sensation by using hashtags that lead sober-curious customers to your door. Use social media to promote your Dry January menu and appeal to the Gen-z and Millennial sober-curious or abstinent crowd.
Create a Dry January calendar with daily or weekly specials to entice diners to visit your restaurant. Come up with clever names and promote them on social media and in-store marketing collateral. Use tabletop signs to advertise your January specials.
Defining No and Low-Alcoholic Beverages
If you’re unsure about what constitutes alcohol-free, non-alcoholic, or reduced-alcohol drinks, here’s the breakdown.
Low Alcohol: In the US, the term “low-alcohol” refers to drinks that have an alcoholic strength by volume (ABV) of between 0.05 and 1.2%. The term “low-alcohol” may be used only on malt beverages containing less than 2.5% alcohol by volume.
Reduced Alcohol: The term “reduced alcohol,” simply means a drink has an alcohol content lower than the average strength of a particular type of drink.
Non-Alcoholic/Alcohol-Free: An alcohol-free or non-alcoholic drink, also known as a temperance drink, is a version of an alcoholic beverage made without alcohol or with the alcohol removed or reduced to almost zero. These may take the form of a "virgin” cocktail, (AKA mocktail), non-alcoholic beer ("near beer"), and alcohol-free wines. For malt beverages to be considered “non-alcoholic” or alcohol-free, the product must contain less than 0.5% (or .5%) alcohol by volume.
NA (Non-Alcoholic) Beverage Recipes
1. Virgin Mojito
Ingredients:
Fresh mint leaves
Lime juice
Simple syrup
Sparkling water or soda water
Crushed ice
Instructions:Muddle mint leaves with lime juice and simple syrup in a glass. Add crushed ice, top with sparkling water, and garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig.
2. Tropical Sunrise
Ingredients:
Orange juice
Pineapple juice
Grenadine
Ice
Orange slice (for garnish)
Instructions:Fill a glass with ice. Pour in equal parts orange juice and pineapple juice. Slowly drizzle grenadine to create a sunrise effect. Garnish with an orange slice.
3. Cucumber Cooler
Ingredients:
Cucumber slices
Lime juice
Agave syrup or honey
Sparkling water
Ice
Instructions:Muddle cucumber slices with lime juice and agave syrup in a shaker. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a glass over ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a cucumber ribbon.
4. Berry Bliss Fizz
Ingredients:
Mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
Lemon juice
Simple syrup
Club soda
Ice
Instructions:Muddle berries with lemon juice and simple syrup. Strain into a glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and garnish with a berry skewer.
5. Spiced Apple Spritz
Ingredients:
Apple cider
Ginger ale
Cinnamon stick
Thin apple slices
Instructions:Pour chilled apple cider into a glass with ice. Top with ginger ale. Add a cinnamon stick and garnish with apple slices.
6. Lavender Lemonade
Ingredients:
Fresh lemonade
Lavender syrup (or dried lavender steeped in simple syrup)
Sparkling water
Ice
Instructions:Mix lemonade with lavender syrup in a glass. Add ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a sprig of fresh lavender.
7. Virgin Piña Colada
Ingredients:
Pineapple juice
Coconut milk
Crushed ice
Pineapple wedge (for garnish)
Instructions:Blend pineapple juice, coconut milk, and crushed ice until smooth. Pour into a glass and garnish with a pineapple wedge.
8. Citrus Basil Smash
Ingredients:
Orange juice
Lemon juice
Basil leaves
Simple syrup
Soda water
Ice
Instructions:Muddle basil leaves with simple syrup in a shaker. Add orange and lemon juice, then shake well with ice. Strain into a glass over fresh ice and top with soda water. Garnish with a basil leaf.
9. Rosemary Grapefruit Spritz
Ingredients:
Grapefruit juice
Rosemary syrup
Soda water
Ice
Fresh rosemary sprig
Instructions:Combine grapefruit juice and rosemary syrup in a glass with ice. Stir well and top with soda water. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
10. Chai Spice Delight
Ingredients:
Chai tea (brewed and chilled)
Almond or oat milk
Honey
Ice
Instructions:Mix chilled chai tea with almond milk and honey. Shake or stir until combined. Serve over ice and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Take Away
With the number of participants of Dry January growing in 2025, savvy restaurants are rising to the challenge along with their guests. Respond to the NA-curious movement by pouring better-tasting and premium-quality alcohol-free cocktails made with fresh ingredients, high-end zero-proof spirits, and the same bar expertise that goes into your boozy beverages.
With the U.S. spirits market in 2025 set to be defined by an emphasis on quality, health-conscious choices, and sustainability with trends like premiumization, tequila and agave spirits, and non-alcoholic beer, paying attention to your customer’s chosen lifestyles, changing tastes, and industry trends are key factors for restaurants to succeed during Dry January and beyond.
Like everything else in the restaurant industry, it’s all about meeting customer demand. If you look at Dry January as an opportunity to reset, actively engage, get creative, and dive into the sober beverage pool, you can continue to watch your profits flow.
FAQs
How did the Dry January phenonenon get started?
Dry January began in the UK as a public health campaign focused on reducing alcohol harm. Officially launched in 2013, its origins can be traced back to a concept inspired by individuals taking a break from alcohol after the holidays as a way to reset their health and habits. Today, Dry January is embraced worldwide, encouraging millions to explore the benefits of reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption for the month.
How do non-alcoholic drinks compare in profit margins?
Non-alcoholic drinks can have excellent profit margins. Mocktails, for example, often use affordable ingredients but can be priced as premium beverages due to their craft appeal.
Is Dry January just about beverage menus?
No. Restaurants can align with the Dry January movement by offering lighter, health-focused food options or meal pairings designed to complement non-alcoholic drinks.
By Eileen Strauss
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