Dry January marketing—how brands are reaching the sober-curious

Despite comprising less than 1% of their respective industries, non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits are growing rapidly. The category hopes to gain more fans during Dry January, which is when consumers pledge to abstain from alcohol as a step toward better health and weight loss that the new year typically brings.

Dry January traces its origins to Alcohol Change UK, a British charity that launched the concept in 2012. In the U.S., non-alcoholic drinks have been riding a separate wave among “sober-curious” Gen Zers who are rejecting the conventions of their parents, including the way they drink. Hashtags like #Hangxiety (regretting the effects of over-imbibing) and #DampLifestyle (curtailing drinking) are trending on social channels. Online alcohol retailer Drizly reports that the market share of non-alcoholic drinks sold on the platform jumped by 24% in 2022. 

Below, a look at how some brands are marketing as Dry January begins.

Sam Adams' Tank Test

Samuel Adams brewer Boston Beer Co. calls its Just the Haze “the beer lover’s non-alcoholic.”

The company put that claim to the test by inviting beer enthusiasts around Boston to see if they could determine which of five glasses of Sam Adams beer was the non-alcoholic one—while seated at a dunk tank filled with beer. For many, it turned out to be a cold and wet January. Goodby Silverstein & Partners is behind the campaign.

Seedlip Soiree

This month Seedlip, Diageo’s nonalcoholic spirits brand, is inviting the sober-curious to win a “Seedlip Soiree” with the help of celebrity event planner Mindy Weiss. One winner of an Instagram sweepstakes will receive a 30-minute consultation with Weiss, a $5,000 cash prize to fund an at-home event, and a suite of Seedlip products to serve “cosmopolitans” and “martiNOs” at their party.

New take on the Old Fashioned

WhistlePig Whiskey, an ultrapremium rye whiskey brand, is teaming with the Sunkist grower’s cooperative to offer a ready-to-drink NA version of an Old-Fashioned cocktail. The brand’s new Dry Orange Fashioned “offers the flavor of a classic Old Fashioned cocktail, without the proof, and with 10% of your daily value of Vitamin C per serving,” according to WhistlePig. (The brand is also making a wet version with the same oranges). As the company did last year with a limited-edition NA rye product, proceeds from the sale of the Orange Fashioned will support Turning Tables, a New Orleans-based non-profit offering bartender training programs for the Black and Brown hospitality community in New Orleans.

Locked down

Hop WTR got an early start on Dry January by giving away custom booze lockers meant to imprison alcoholic beverages until February. The lockers, which were dispersed via a sweepstakes in late December, can be opened via a combination revealed to their owners on Feb 1. In the meantime, winners received a month’s supply of Hop WTR, a sparkling water flavored by hops in five varieties.

Meet your 'boozy alter ego'

RationAle Brewing, a San Diego-based craft NA beer brand, is celebrating Dry January by giving away a free six-pack for every six-pack ordered on its website throughout the month, a move it hopes will spread the moderation movement as purchasers share the drinks with friends (use the code BYFAB, which stands for "Buy Your Friend a Beer"). Jamie Fay founded the brand following a conversation with his teenage sons about moderation and the family’s history with alcohol. To that end, the company is also asking fans to discover their "Boozy Alter Ego" through an online quiz on its Instagram page.

'Smells like February'

It wouldn’t be Dry January without some Dry Humor. Tito’s Homemade Vodka took a playful shot at the movement. The effort, dubbed "DIY January," stars Martha Stewart. In a video, the home hospitality maven finds a variety of uses of Tito’s that don’t involve drinking it—spraying as a disinfectant, using the bottle to tenderize meat and watering plants (“Smells like February,” Stewart deadpans). A collection of gadgets affixed to the bottles shown in the video sold out at Tito’s website. Arts & Letters, which was recently named Tito's lead agency, is behind the effort.