IN Brief:
- Sunrise Beverages has acquired alcohol-free beer brand Days, adding its first 0.0% beer brand.
- Days is stocked through more than 3,500 UK distribution points and has moved into draught.
- Alcohol-free beer accounts for around 3% of total British beer sales, compared with roughly 10% in Europe.
Sunrise Beverages has acquired Days Brewing, adding a fast-growing alcohol-free beer brand to a portfolio that already includes Efes, Orion, Gipsy Hill, Curious, Portobello, and St Peter’s.
The deal gives Sunrise its first 0.0% beer brand and a stronger position in one of the most active parts of the UK drinks market. Days was founded in 2021 by Mike Gammell and Duncan Keith and had become the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beer brand in UK grocery by 2024.
Retail and on-trade distribution have expanded quickly. Days is stocked in more than 3,500 UK distribution points, including Tesco, Waitrose, Ocado, and Prezzo, while a nationwide on-trade partnership with Stonegate Pubs began in 2025. A draught version has also been introduced, with a wider rollout planned after the Stonegate pilot.
The UK market still has headroom compared with parts of continental Europe. Alcohol-free beer accounts for around 3% of total British beer sales, compared with about 10% in Europe, leaving room for brewers, pub groups, and retailers to build more permanent space for 0.0% products on shelves and taps.
Alcohol-free beer places different demands on production than conventional line extensions. Brewers need to protect beer character without alcohol while maintaining microbial stability, carbonation, shelf life, and flavour consistency through retail, on-trade, and online distribution. Those requirements intensify as brands move from packaged grocery formats into draught systems.
Days positions its lager and pale ale around 0.0% ABV, plant-based ingredients, and a brewing process designed to preserve flavour without relying on the thin sensory profile often associated with early alcohol-free beers. As production scales, consistency in flavour, foam behaviour, packaging performance, and dispense quality will become central to the brand’s ability to grow without diluting its position.
The acquisition follows broader movement across the UK beverage market, where drinks groups are using deals to fill gaps created by moderation, calorie scrutiny, and changing consumption occasions. Global Brands buys Skinny Brands portfolio showed a similar push into lighter, health-aware alcoholic formats, while the Sunrise deal places alcohol-free beer inside a larger distribution and brewing portfolio.
Sunrise’s existing network gives Days access to wider sales, trade relationships, and route-to-market support. That could accelerate retail penetration and help draught alcohol-free beer move from a specialist offer into a more routine pub and restaurant format. At the same time, the brand will need to retain the identity that helped it gain early momentum, particularly as larger drinks groups compete more aggressively in no- and low-alcohol categories.
The next phase of alcohol-free beer will depend less on novelty and more on manufacturing discipline. Production economics, pack quality, draught reliability, and distribution control will decide which brands can hold mainstream space once the category matures.