First industry-wide alcohol alternatives guidance released by Portman Group

Portman Group have released the first alcohol alternatives guidance for packaging and marketing, providing industry-wide guidelines for producers on marketing responsibly to consumers in the UK. The company’s Advisory Service will also provide guidance to alcohol alternative producers, and low-cost training will be available to the industry. The guidance is freely available via the Portman Group website.

The guidance outlines that, as alcohol alternatives are aimed solely at adults, producers and marketers should take steps to ensure their marketing of the products has no particular appeal to under-18s. The guidance also stipulates that any marketing showing people driving, playing sport, or taking part in high-risk activities should make it clear that alcohol alternatives only have been consumed.

Further best practice advice from the Portman Group includes refraining from depicting alternatives being consumed during pregnancy, no images of people who are or look under 25 years of age and making it clear that the drink is at or below 0.5% ABV (the threshold to be considered an alcoholic beverage). A full outline of the principles is included in the advisory document, linked below.

Public Health Minister, Dame Andrea Leadsom, comments: “I welcome the publication of this marketing guidance for alcohol alternatives, and the commitment of producers to market and sell these products responsibly to adult consumers.

“I hope this guidance will support producers in increasing availability and visibility of alcohol alternatives for those consumers who want to moderate their alcohol consumption and improve their health.”

New YouGov research commissioned by the Portman Group shows the growing trend in regular consumption of alcohol alternatives. Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, shares: “As evidenced by our research, alcohol alternatives have seen a huge increase in popularity in recent years, and the Portman Group has responded by creating new marketing principles to help producers market these products responsibly.

“It is clear that consumers are gravitating to alcohol alternatives either as a moderation tool to cut down on their drinking or as part of a healthier lifestyle.

“Our new guidance aims to help producers be clear and transparent in their marketing, ensuring that information is provided to consumers when considering which products to buy.”

The full guidance can be read here. The quick read version is available here.

17 January 2024 - Lucy Schofield