A SOBERING THOUGHT

The booze ban boosted sales of alcohol-free drinks, but going ‘nolo’ has been a trend for some time thanks to its health benefits

- JODY-LYNN TAYLOR

BY NOW the booze ban feels like a bad dream for the many South Africans who can finally top up their favourite tipple pretty much any time they want to. No more rations, no more popping open the really bad stuff and no more wishing that glass of water was something stronger.

But for many the restrictions on alcohol sales and the resulting dry spell was a revelation. And plenty are following in the footsteps of those who’d discovered the benefits of going “nolo” long before lockdown level 5.

No or low-alcohol alternatives may have been novel for drinkers left high and dry in those early weeks but long before Covid-19 these drinks were becoming popular among the health-conscious.

In one report the BBC shows de-alcoholised or no-alcohol drinks soared by 30% since 2016, as 18- to 24-year-olds increasingly shun booze.

The demand for these drinks has also increased dramatically in South Africa over the past 12 to 18 months, according to Bonitha Malherbe, brand manager of the Van Loveren Wine Estate in Robertson in the Western Cape.

“We’re only just managing to keep up with demand,” she says.

Non-alcoholic beer too has seen a boom. “Sales have increased tenfold during the lockdown, says Pick n Pay spokesperson Janine Corodonna.