The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
We’re taking a look at the drinks range in supermarkets and this week we’re sharing our experience of shopping for alcohol-free drinks in Waitrose. We got stuck into their website to check out what it’s like to order online, and also visited the large Waitrose store in Meanwood, Leeds. We’re looking at how easy it is to find products, whether there is any helpful signage or labeling, whether products are included in any promotional activations, and how varied the range is.
We visited the large Waitrose in Meanwood, Leeds, in July 2022. It was very easy to find the alcohol-free drinks, they were all in one section at the start of the beer and spirits aisle. As with most retailers, the beer selection made up the greatest percentage of the alcohol-free offering, but we were pleased to find a small but well curated spirit selection, including a dark spirit, while many competitors only stock botanical alternatives. Waitrose stocked a range of mixers to meet a variety of flavour preferences, and there was a good mix of options with regards to sugar and calories, which is important to many consumers. Some products were on special savings prices, and some beers were included in a multiple purchase deal. Here is what we found when shopping for alcohol-free drinks in Waitrose:
Adnams Ghost Ship
BrewDog Punk AF
Brooklyn Brewery Special Effects
Doom Bar Zero
Erdinger Weissbrau Alkohol Frei
Guinness 0.0
Heineken 0.0
San Miguel 0.0
Waitrose Low Alcohol Cider
Eisberg alcohol-free Blanc
Noughty Sparkling
Torres Natureo Muscat
Torres Natureo Rose
Torres Natureo Red
REAL Kombucha Royal Flush
Atopia Rhubarb & Ginger
Caleño Dark & Spicy
Caleño Light & Zesty
Gordon’s 0.0
Seedlip Garden 108
Seedlip Grove 42
SipSmith FreeGlider
Tanqueray Alcohol Free 0.0
Belvoir (selection)
Bottlegreen (selection)
Cawston Press (selection)
Dalston (selection)
Fentimans (selection)
Levantine Table (selection)
Nix & Kix (selection)
Own brand and big brand (selection)
Double Dutch
Fever-Tree (selection)
Sekforde (selection)
The London Essence (selection)
Own brand and big brand (selection)
The Waitrose website is very easy to navigate. Head to ‘groceries’ and from here select ‘beer, wine & spirits’. You’ll see a category for ‘low alcohol & alcohol-free drinks’, and from here you will find the category broken down into ‘low & no alcohol wine’, ‘low & no alcohol beer’, low & no alcohol cider’, and ‘low & no alcohol spirits’. There is also the option to ‘view all’. This page features a banner encouraging site visitors to click through to three different categories, beer, wines, and adult soft drinks. The language used shows that this retailer understands the consumer and what they might be looking for, and they also explain how different ABVs fall into the labels of’ alcohol-free’, ‘dealcoholised’, and ‘low alcohol’, which is both helpful and reassuring for shoppers. Waitrose also has a handy little tick box where you can shop ‘offers’, at the time of this review there were eight products on offer spanning a variety of drink styles.
Overall, the selection of products available from Waitrose isn’t huge in comparison to some retailers, but their range is very carefully curated, with each category showcasing a good variety of flavour profiles. Interestingly, they list REAL Kombucha’s Royal Flush in their wine category, which we think is a positive choice as the product makes for an excellent wine alternative. We think there’s some room for improvement in their spirits selection, it would be great to see them expand this to include some aperitivo-style drinks. All said, the selection from Waitrose is well-curated, and we’re excited to see what products they will introduce in coming months. Below is what we found on their website at the time of our audit (July 2022):
Adnams Ghost Ship
Big Drop Brewing Co Paradiso Citra IPA
BrewDog Punk AF
Brooklyn Brewery Special Effects
Clausthaler Unfiltered Dry Hopped Lager
Doom Bar Zero
Erdinger Weissbräu Alkohol Frei
Guinness 0.0
Heineken 0.0
Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0%
San Miguel 0.0%
Eisberg alcohol-free Blanc
Noughty Sparkling
Torres Natureo Muscat
Torres Natureo Rosé
Fre Premium Red
REAL Royal Flush Kombucha
Atopia Rhubarb & Ginger
Caleño Dark & Spicy
Caleño Light & Zesty
Gordon’s 0.0
Seedlip Garden 108
Seedlip Grove 42
Seedlip Spice 94
SipSmith FreeGlider
Tanqueray Alcohol Free 0.0
Gordon’s 0.0 Alcohol Free & Tonic and a Hint of Lime
A mixture of home brand and big brand soft drinks as well as:
Belvoir Cucumber & Mint Pressé
Belvoir Elderflower & Rose Pressé
Belvoir Elderflower Pressé
Belvoir Ginger Beer
Belvoir Lime & Soda
Belvoir Raspberry Lemonade
Belvoir Sparkling Pink Lady Apple Juice
Bottlegreen Bramble Sparkling Pressé
Bottlegreen Sparkling Pressé Elderflower
Cawston Press Cloudy Apple
Cawston Press Elderflower Lemonade
Cawston Press Rhubarb
Dalston’s Fizzy Elderflower
Dalston’s Fizzy Rhubarb
Fentimans Gently Sparkling Elderflower
Fentimans Ginger Beer
Fentimans Rose Lemonade
Fentimans Victorian Lemonade
Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Rhubarb & Raspberry
Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Sicilian Lemonade
Fever-Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale
Gingerella Ginger Ale
Levantine Table Lemon & Mint Pressé
Levantine Table Lemon & Mint Pressé
Levantine Table Pomegranate & Lime Pressé
London Essence Co. Roasted Pineapple Crafted Soda
London Essence Co. White Peach & Jasmine Soda
Lorina Pink Citrus Lemonade
Nix & Kix Blood Orange Turmeric
Nix & Kix Mango Ginger
Nix & Kix Raspberry & Rhubarb
A mixture of own brand and big brand mixers as well as:
Belvoir Botanical Juniper & Tonic
Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger
Double Dutch Indian Tonic Water
Double Dutch Pomegranate & Basil
Fentimans Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water
Fentimans Valencian Orange Tonic Water
Fever Tree Refreshingly Light Cucumber Tonic
Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic Water
Fever-Tree Light Passionfruit & Lime Tonic Water
Fever-Tree Italian Blood Orange Soda
Fever-Tree Light Raspberry & Orange Blossom Soda
Fever-Tree Light Spanish Clementine Tonic Water
Fever-Tree Mexican Lime Soda
Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Ginger Ale
Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Lemon Tonic Water
Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Madagscan Cola
London Essence Co. Grapefruit & Rosemary Tonic
London Essence Co. Orange & Elderflower Tonic Water
London Essence Co. Original Indian Tonic Water
London Essence Co. Pomelo & Pink Pepper Tonic Water
Sekforde Lime, Mint & Cacao Mixer
Sekforde Prickly Pear & Fig Mixer
Sekforde Raspberry, Rose & Sage Mixer
Sekforde Sicilian Orange & Rosemary Mixer
Remember, if you live somewhere more remote and don’t have the option of shopping for alcohol-free drinks in Waitrose, Wise Bartender has a fantastic selection of alcohol-free options to delight any drinker.
Your feedback really helps us to shape the work that we do. If your local supermarket has a fantastic range of alcohol-free drinks, or if you have any feedback about what makes for a great shopping experience either in-store or online, we’d love to hear from you.
Interested in shopping for alcohol-free drinks in supermarkets? Check out our findings from Morrisons.
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