The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial

Katie De-Loyde; Jennifer Ferrar; Mark A. Pilling; Gareth J. Hollands; Natasha Clarke; Joe A. Matthews; Olivia M. Maynard; Tiffany Wood; Carly Heath; Marcus R. Munafò; Angela S. Attwood

doi:10.1111/add.16449

The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial

Katie De-Loyde, Jennifer Ferrar, Mark A. Pilling, Gareth J. Hollands, Natasha Clarke, Joe A. Matthews, Olivia M. Maynard, Tiffany Wood, Carly Heath, Marcus R. Munafò, Angela S. Attwood

Vice Chancellor's Office

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Abstract

Aims: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England.

Design: Randomised crossover field trial.

Setting: England. Participants: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol-free beer.

Intervention and comparator: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol-free beer. Control periods operated business as usual.

Measurements: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness.

Findings: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was −20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = −41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of −29 L per week (95% CI = −53 to −5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = −328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol-free beer was available.

Conclusions: Introducing a draught alcohol-free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1071-1079
Number of pages	9
Journal	Addiction
Volume	119
Issue number	6
Early online date	20 Mar 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16449
Publication status	Published - 30 Jun 2024

Acknowledgements

We thank all of the venues that took part in this study. We also thank Lilli Waples who helped to recruit the venues to the study, the researchers that helped complete the fidelity checks and Jenna Selvey for data entry and cleaning.

Funding

This study was funded by the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol (MC_UU_00011/7, grant recipient M.M.), the National Institute for Health and Care Research Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20011, grant recipients A.A. and M.M.), the Bristol Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Drug and Alcohol Health Integration Team (grant recipient A.A.) and the Behaviour Change by Design collaboration between the University of Bristol and the University of Cambridge (Wellcome Trust [206853/Z/17/Z], grant recipients G.H. and M.M.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.

Keywords

alcohol
alcohol-free
draught beer
public health
revenue
sales

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Medicine (miscellaneous)
Psychiatry and Mental health

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1111/add.16449Licence: CC BY

Cite this

De-Loyde, K., Ferrar, J., Pilling, M. A., Hollands, G. J., Clarke, N., Matthews, J. A., Maynard, O. M., Wood, T., Heath, C., Munafò, M. R., & Attwood, A. S. (2024). The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial. Addiction, 119(6), 1071-1079. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16449

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abstract = "Aims: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England. Design: Randomised crossover field trial. Setting: England. Participants: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol-free beer. Intervention and comparator: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol-free beer. Control periods operated business as usual. Measurements: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness. Findings: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was −20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = −41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of −29 L per week (95% CI = −53 to −5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = −328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Conclusions: Introducing a draught alcohol-free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.",

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author = "Katie De-Loyde and Jennifer Ferrar and Pilling, {Mark A.} and Hollands, {Gareth J.} and Natasha Clarke and Matthews, {Joe A.} and Maynard, {Olivia M.} and Tiffany Wood and Carly Heath and Munaf{\`o}, {Marcus R.} and Attwood, {Angela S.}",

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AU - Hollands, Gareth J.

AU - Clarke, Natasha

AU - Matthews, Joe A.

AU - Maynard, Olivia M.

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AU - Munafò, Marcus R.

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N2 - Aims: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England. Design: Randomised crossover field trial. Setting: England. Participants: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol-free beer. Intervention and comparator: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol-free beer. Control periods operated business as usual. Measurements: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness. Findings: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was −20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = −41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of −29 L per week (95% CI = −53 to −5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = −328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Conclusions: Introducing a draught alcohol-free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.

AB - Aims: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol-free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England. Design: Randomised crossover field trial. Setting: England. Participants: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol-free beer. Intervention and comparator: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol-free beer. Control periods operated business as usual. Measurements: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness. Findings: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was −20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = −41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of −29 L per week (95% CI = −53 to −5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = −328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol-free beer was available. Conclusions: Introducing a draught alcohol-free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.

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The impact of introducing alcohol-free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial

Abstract

Acknowledgements

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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