Has dry January hit French booze sales hard?

Retail sales of alcohol fell sharply last month across France as reports claimed that the impact of Dry January could be impacting the on-trade in the country. According to the latest figures from insight firm Circana, and highlighted on French broadcaster BFM TV, off-trade sales of wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks fell by 6.4% in January compared to 2023 figures. Although the country is still struggling from inflationary pressures and consumers are cutting back on non-essential items, Dry January campaign could be to blame due to the continuing trend on yearly falls. Across a six year period alcohol sales in France have been dropping each January, with 13% less alcohol sold in 2024 than in 2018, while at the same time non-alcoholic beverages, including low- and no-alcohol wine and beer has surged by 48% in the same time period. Statistics last year revealed that one in three French consumers had purchased low- and no-alcohol products with almost half of them being under the ...