Are we really ditching the pints & pinot for pilates?
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Why the way we drink is changing, and why I think something much bigger than “sober culture” is happening.
I spent 15 years working in the alcohol industry. I’ve now spent over eight years alcohol-free.
And somewhere between those two chapters of my life, I started Catalyse.
So when I see headlines declaring that younger generations aren’t drinking anymore, I’m always curious. Because I’ve experienced the drinks industry from several very different sides: working inside one of the world’s biggest brewing companies, choosing to stop drinking myself, and now building a wellness drinks brand for a generation increasingly interested in what they’re putting into their bodies.
And I don’t think the story is quite as simple as “Gen Z has stopped drinking.”
In fact, the latest data says they haven’t.
IWSR’s 2026 research found that 76% of legal-drinking-age Gen Z consumers in the UK had consumed alcohol, compared with 66% three years earlier. Across the 15 markets it tracks, alcohol participation overall has remained relatively stable.
But something else has changed.
People are becoming more intentional about when, why and how much they drink.
And that might be the much more interesting story.
From default to decision
For a long time, alcohol was almost punctuation in British adult life.
Friday night? Drinks.
Birthday? Drinks.
Work event? Drinks.
First date? Drinks.
Celebrating? Drinks.
Had an absolutely appalling Tuesday? Also, apparently, drinks.
I don’t say that critically. I spent nearly 2 decades working in the industry and I’m incredibly grateful for that chapter of my career. It taught me an enormous amount about brands, customers, hospitality and the strange and brilliant ways drinks become part of our social lives.
But our relationship with alcohol is evolving.
IWSR now describes moderation as becoming structurally embedded in society. People aren’t necessarily abandoning alcohol altogether. They’re drinking less frequently and consuming less on the occasions when they do drink. Lifestyle and health considerations are increasingly influencing those decisions too.
In other words, perhaps we’re not becoming a nation of non-drinkers.
We’re becoming a nation of choosier drinkers.
Pints haven’t disappeared. They just have competition.
Look at what else has happened culturally.
Pilates studios are full. Run clubs have become social clubs. We’re spending money on skincare, sleep, fitness, supplements, saunas, retreats, matcha and beautifully designed gyms, Catalyse...
Wellness is no longer one dusty shelf in a 'alternative health store', it's moved out of the specialist health shop and into everyday life.
And inevitably, that changes our expectations of drinks too.
Drinkaware’s 2025 research found that 44% of UK drinkers now use alcohol-free or low-alcohol drinks to moderate their alcohol intake, up from 31% in 2018. Among 18–34-year-olds, that figure has risen from 28% to 49%.
That doesn’t mean half of young adults have sworn off alcohol.
It means they’re increasingly comfortable having both.
A glass of wine tonight. An alcohol-free drink tomorrow. A cocktail on holiday. A month drinking less. A pint after work. Pilates at 8am on Saturday without spending the first ten minutes quietly bargaining with their own liver.
It isn’t necessarily abstinence. It’s flexibility. It's choice & freedom.
I know that feeling rather well
When I stopped drinking eight years ago, I didn’t suddenly stop enjoying beautiful restaurants, celebrations, holidays or going out.
I still wanted the ritual of ordering something interesting.
I still wanted a beautiful glass in my hand.
I still wanted flavour, theatre and a drink that felt as though somebody had actually thought about it.
What I didn’t particularly want was the experience of being presented with water or an incredibly sweet alternative simply because I’d chosen not to drink alcohol.
And years later, that experience became part of the thinking behind Catalyse.
When I created Catalyse, I wasn’t trying to make a substitute for alcohol. I wanted to create drinks for the life I was already living.
Drinks that could belong after Pilates just as naturally as they could on a restaurant table.
Something interesting enough to drink on its own, but versatile enough to become a beautiful Mindful Mocktail
Something created around botanicals and different moods, from Energy and Beauty to Immunity and Relaxation.
And crucially, something where choosing not to drink alcohol didn’t feel like choosing the lesser option.
The rise of the mindful mocktail
There’s another subtle shift happening here too.
For years, the alcohol-free conversation was predominantly about replicating alcoholic drinks: alcohol-free beer, alcohol-free wine, alcohol-free spirits.
Those products absolutely have their place. However for myself, and many I know - we don't want alcohol, nor do we want pretend alcohol.
But I think the next chapter is bigger than imitation. if you're taking something out, why not put something really good in?
What if a sophisticated adult drink doesn’t have to pretend to be alcohol at all?
Our mindful mocktails start with that idea. Botanical drinks, beautiful garnishes, proper glassware and interesting flavours that make the occasion feel special in their own right.
Not a punishment for being the designated driver.
Not the sad little section of fruit juice 'mocktails' at the bottom of the menu.
An actual choice.
And perhaps that’s why this movement feels different.
So, are we really swapping pints & pinot for Pilates?
Some of us are.
Some of us are having the pina coladas and doing the Pilates.
And some of us, like me, haven’t had the pint for years.
The fascinating part isn’t deciding which camp is doing life correctly. It’s that we’re finally creating space for all three.
The latest evidence suggests younger consumers aren’t rejecting alcohol wholesale. They’re becoming more selective about it, while no- and low-alcohol choices and moderation have become increasingly normal parts of drinking culture. IWSR describes Gen Z as balancing moderation with discovery and becoming more intentional about when, where and why they drink.
That feels less like a temporary sober trend and more like a cultural shift towards choice.
And from someone who has spent a fairly significant portion of her working life thinking about what people drink, I find that incredibly exciting.
Not because the alcohol industry is struggling. It gave me an extraordinary education and helped shape the founder I eventually became.
But because our drinks culture is getting bigger.
There is room for the pint.
There is room for the cocktail.
And finally, there is increasingly room for something completely different.
Maybe the future isn’t drinking versus sober.
Maybe it’s simply choice.
A pint on Friday. Pilates on Saturday. A cocktail at dinner. A mindful mocktail the next.
More of us choosing what fits the life we want rather than automatically ordering what we’ve always ordered.
I spent 15 years working in the alcohol industry. I’ve now spent eight years alcohol-free, and 4 building a drinks brand around a very different kind of occasion.
From where I’m sitting, that doesn’t feel like the end of something.
It feels like the beginning of a much more interesting drinks culture.
That's all for now!
Love Eirian x
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