News release

From: George Institute for Global Health

‘Low sugar’, ‘low carb’, ‘healthy choice’: how the alcohol industry is marketing its way into your wellness routine

Two new Australian studies reveal how alcohol brands are using nutrition claims and zero-alcohol products to blur the line between drinking and healthy living.

Australian researchers have found that ‘low sugar’, ‘low carb’ and ‘low calorie’ claims on alcohol products are making consumers significantly more likely to perceive those products as healthy - despite the alcohol content, the primary driver of health risk, being identical across all products tested.

The finding is one of two new studies from The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW that together reveal a coordinated shift in how the alcohol industry is positioning its products amid growing consumer interest in health and wellness.

Nutrition claims are changing how Australians perceive alcohol

In the first study, researchers surveyed 2,034 Australian drinkers in a nationally representative sample. Participants were shown alcohol products with and without nutrition-related claims and asked to rate how healthy they considered each product.

The results were striking. Consumers were nearly three times more likely to rate a product as healthy when it carried a carbohydrate claim and more than twice as likely when it carried a sugar claim (OR = 2.65).

Energy and calorie claims also increased healthiness perceptions, although to a lesser extent . Women were almost one and a half times as likely as men to rate a product with a calorie claim as healthy, suggesting these tactics may disproportionately affect health-conscious female consumers.

Critically, every product in the experiment contained identical levels of alcohol. The claims had no bearing on the actual health profile of the product.

“These claims create a health halo around products where none exists. The alcohol content — which is what actually drives cancer risk, liver disease and a range of other health harms — is exactly the same. Consumers are being misled.”

Asad Yusoff, Researcher, The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW

The study notes that Australia currently permits these claims on alcohol products. The EU and UK have banned nutrient content claims on alcohol, and the issue is under active consideration at the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international body that sets global food labelling standards. The researchers are calling for Australia to follow suit.

Alcohol brands are moving into supermarkets through the back door

The second study tracked the growth of zero-alcohol products across Australian supermarkets and bottle shops between 2022 and 2024.

Researchers found that alcohol-branded zero-alcohol products now account for 59% of all zero-alcohol drinks available in Australian supermarkets, up from 37% in 2022. In alcohol stores, the range of zero-alcohol products more than doubled over the same period, growing from 110 products in 2022 to 261 in 2024.

Because alcohol cannot legally be sold in most Australian supermarkets, zero-alcohol versions of alcohol brands occupy a regulatory grey zone that allows them to sit on supermarket shelves alongside soft drinks and juices, exposing shoppers — including children — to alcohol brand logos and packaging in an environment that has historically been protected from that kind of promotion.

More than half of Australian 14 to 17 year olds have seen zero-alcohol products in supermarkets, and more than a third have tried one. There are currently no legal restrictions on selling these products to minors.

“Supermarkets have always been considered a protected space from alcohol promotion. What we are seeing now is that protection being quietly eroded. These products carry the same branding, the same packaging and the same brand associations as their alcoholic counterparts. The exposure is real, and the regulatory framework has not kept pace.”

Professor Simone Pettigrew, The George Institute for Global Health

An industry adapting to a changing market

Taken together, the two studies document an alcohol industry actively repositioning itself in response to shifting consumer attitudes toward drinking. The rise of sober curiosity, mindful drinking and health-conscious consumption has led to marketing that speaks directly to those values.

The researchers draw a parallel with the tobacco industry’s use of ‘light’ and ‘mild’ descriptors on cigarettes, which research consistently showed misled consumers into believing they were making a safer choice. Those descriptors were ultimately banned in Australia and internationally after regulatory bodies determined they were deceptive. The researchers argue that alcohol’s ‘low sugar’ and ‘low carb’ claims are functioning in the same way and warrant equivalent scrutiny.

Key statistics at a glance

Paper 1: Nutrition claims on alcohol (Yusoff et al., Health Promotion International)

• 2,034 Australian drinkers surveyed, nationally representative by age and gender
• Consumers nearly 3x more likely to rate alcohol as ‘healthy’ with a carbohydrate claim (OR = 2.77)
• Similar effect for sugar claims (OR = 2.65); smaller for energy/calorie claims (OR = 1.65)
• Proportion rating products as ‘healthy’ doubled for carbohydrate claims, from 13% to 26%
• Women 1.4x more likely than men to rate a product with a calorie claim as healthy
• All products in the experiment had identical alcohol content
• Australia permits these claims; the EU and UK ban nutrient content claims on alcohol

Paper 2: Zero-alcohol products in supermarkets (Pettigrew et al., Drug and Alcohol Review)

• 59% of zero-alcohol products in supermarkets carry alcohol brand names, up from 37% in 2022
• Zero-alcohol products in alcohol stores more than doubled: 110 (2022) to 261 (2024)
• Alcohol cannot legally be sold in most Australian supermarkets, but zero-alcohol versions of alcohol brands can
• No legal restrictions on selling zero-alcohol products to minors in Australia
• More than half of Australian 14–17 year olds have seen zero-alcohol products in supermarkets; more than a third have tried one

About the research

Yusoff et al. — “Testing the effects of nutrition-related claims on perceptions of and preferences for alcohol products among Australian consumers” — is published in Health Promotion International. Conducted by researchers at The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW.

Pettigrew et al. — “Trends in the range of zero alcohol products available in supermarkets and alcohol stores in Australia” — is published in Drug and Alcohol Review. Conducted by researchers at The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW.

Both studies were supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

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