Naming it The Clean Vic, Sainsbury’s is to launch a pop-up pub serving only no- and low-alcoholic drinks over 24-25 July, after the supermarket saw a 31% increase in sales of alcohol-free beverages over the past 12 weeks, and a 33% increase in customers searching for non-alcoholic products online.
While bearing all the usual hallmarks of a traditional pub – complete with bartenders and pints – The Clean Vic, located in London’s New Oxford Street, will serve a range of mocktails, as well as beers and wines, each with a maximum ABV of 0.5%.
Customers will be able to explore a 20-strong drinks menu, including what the retailer says is the UK’s first non-alcoholic dark distillate, Celtic Soul, which ‘offers a refined and sophisticated drinks experience that takes the appeal of whisky’.
A £5 entry to the pop-up will entitle visitors to two drinks of their choice and two bar snacks. Immersive masterclasses with Millie Gooch, founder of Sober Girl Society (£12 inclusive of pub entry) will run alongside No & Low ABV beer tasting sessions.
We’re seeing a really exciting spike in the no- and low-alcohol category at Sainsbury’s which has been growing since 2001
Anne Cooper, buyer at Sainsbury’s, comments: “We’re seeing a really exciting spike in the no- and low-alcohol category at Sainsbury’s which has been growing since 2001. With an increasing number of products now available, those who want to hold off on alcoholic beverages don’t need to miss out on the experience of enjoying a beer with friends or even a mocktail made with a delicious non-alcoholic distillate.
From speaking to customers, we know there is still some uncertainty about what these … products taste like and how they are made. So, our specially curated workshops in The Clean Vic will help customers learn more about these drinks, providing key tasting notes given by the experts.”
