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Lyre’s records 1,300% UK sales boost in January

Australian alcohol-free drinks brand Lyre’s reported a 1,300% increase in UK retail sales last month compared with January 2020.

Alcohol-free drinks brand Lyre’s
Alcohol-free drinks brand Lyre’s will launch a ready-to-drink line in March

Lyre’s, which has a range of 13 alcohol-free ‘spirits’, noted a 121% increase through its own UK e-commerce outlet for the three months to January 2021 compared with July 2020 to September 2020. In addition, new visitors to the Lyre’s site increased by 86% during the period.

Mark Livings, Lyre’s founder, said: “We are so proud of our accomplishments during the last 18 months. To show a Dry January 1,300% larger in revenue terms than last year tells us we’re really on the right track.”

A recent survey by charity Alcohol Change UK found that one in five UK adults said they planned to participate in Dry January this year.

In Europe, where Lyre’s is available in 20 countries, sales have grown 509% quarter on quarter (November 2020 to January 2021, compared with July 2020 to September 2020).

Lyre’s said this growth highlights that the trend towards mindful drinking is being adopted across Europe.

Livings said: “The zero-alcohol category is undeniably accelerating at pace and the benefits of reducing or eliminating alcohol are moving from passive curiosity to broad desirability, being adopted by increasing numbers of Brits and around the world.

“The entry point for this change for many consumers is one of the ‘dry festival’ months, like Dry January. These have become incredibly important launchpads for entry into our brand and the category more broadly. Our data shows us that the benefits aren’t just captured during the dry month, but rather there’s a lift to baseline demand, indicative of these months starting a lasting lifestyle change.”

2021 plans

Lyre’s also plans to tap into the ready-to-drink (RTD) market in the UK next month with a new range.

Livings added: “We’ve just established our footprint in our 40th country, recruited our 50th full-time staff member and are hitting mid-cap firm annualised revenues. There are extraordinary tailwinds fuelling the category’s growth and I’m delighted that we seem to have the right product and brand to continue to outpace the growth of the category and grow share.

“2021 is going to be particularly exciting for us as we scale our RTD range globally, deliver even more innovations to market and, with some luck, start to see our products again placed behind the bars of the world’s best establishments as the world turns to reopening.”

In September 2020, Lyre’s secured £9 million (US$11.5m) in funding to accelerate its expansion into new markets.

Sales of low- and no-alcohol ‘spirits’ increased 32.7% in 2020, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

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