Low and no: what will Labour govt do next?

“Cloudy” labelling regulations and terminology around the low- and no-alcohol category are “a problem”, warned the Portman Group CEO.

Last week saw the first Club Soda Low, Light and Alcohol-Free Summit take place in London. The day-long event offered a packed programme of panel discussions centred on the growing category.

During one talk – What will the new government do next, and how will it impact your brand? – experts weighed in on what the new UK Labour government will do regarding the low-and-no sector.

Moderated by Rob Fink, founder of Big Drop Brewing Co, the panel unanimously called for clarity over labelling ‘alcohol-free’ and products at 0.5% ABV.

Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, was also on the panel, and voiced his concerns over the “cloudy” rules around labelling and terminology used to describe low-and-no products.

“This is a problem,” he said. “Where does alcohol-free start? What terms can you use – de-alcoholised, no-alcohol, non-alcoholic – so that consumers can understand what’s in alcohol-free products? We have been pressing the government to get on with this.”

Low-and-no terminology ‘deprioritised’

With a new Labour government voted into power earlier this year, Lambert said this has been “deprioritised”, as the focus has been on the NHS, prisons and other issues.

“On top of that, the people who deal with this have changed guard – there’s a completely new team who don’t seem particularly interested in alcohol alternatives,” he added. “Whenever you can, press your local MP. We need clarity on this and they need to bring it forward.”

Fink agreed clarity was needed. He noted how it used to be “unlawful” to label a 0.5% ABV product “alcohol-free – it needed to be 0.05% [ABV]”.

Panellist Karen Tyrell, CEO of Drinkaware, added that the difference between ‘low-alcohol’ and ‘non-alcoholic’ were confusing for the public.

“From our point of view, this is one of the biggest health opportunities in this space,” Tyrell stated.

Tyrell also said the Labour government did seem interested in prevention, rather than intervention, when it comes to tackling alcohol-related harm.

“The Labour party has been clear that they want to work with the wider civil society and charities like Drinkaware,” Tyrell noted.

Seedlip founder Ben Branson gave the opening speech at the summit, and urged there were “no excuses” for making bad non-alcoholic alternatives anymore.