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Gen Z’s famed abstinence waning: Generation Z has long been known as “generation abstinence”, shunning alcohol in favour of more wholesome pursuits. However, the latest evidence has suggested that they may not be as squeaky clean as first thought, as growing numbers of young people opt for alcoholic beverages. The Times reports that a survey of more than 26,000 people in the world’s 15 biggest drinks markets found that 73% of Gen Z respondents – people of legal drinking age to 27 years old – had consumed alcohol in the previous six months, compared with 66% two years ago. The increase in Britain, from 66% to 76%, was even more pronounced. No other generation has experienced such an increase in drinking alcohol, suggesting that young people are bored of staying home and are choosing to meet people in the pub instead. However, Richard Halstead, the head of consumer insights at IWSR, the market research firm that conducted the survey, offered a more prosaic explanation. He suspected that previous surveys indicating that young people were drinking less were the result not of a shift in societal habits but the cost-of-living crisis. He said: “The idea that Gen Z drinkers are somehow fundamentally different from other age groups isn’t supported by the evidence. For instance, we know that beverage alcohol consumption correlates with disposable income, and Gen Z came of age during a cost-of-living crisis. Rising prices have been especially acute in bars and restaurants – places that appeal most to Gen Z drinkers. With every year that passes, more Gen Z drinkers are entering the workforce, and those already in the workforce are typically earning more.” Nonetheless, Gen Z remains marginally less likely to drink than the population as a whole. The survey found that millennials, those aged between 28 and 44, were the most likely to drink, as 83% have done so in the past six months, followed by Generation X at 79%. Only 72% of baby boomers, people aged 60 and over, said they had drunk alcohol over the same time period, a slight fall on the last time the survey was conducted two years earlier. Overall 78% of people surveyed said they were drinkers. The research also identified differences in the approach to alcohol between the generations. It found that Gen Z drinkers were the most likely to engage in “intermittent abstinence”.

Premium Club subscribers to receive new searchable and segmented New Openings Database tomorrow, videos from Multi-Club Conference on Friday, 11 July: The next Propel New Openings Database will be sent to Premium Club subscribers tomorrow (Friday, 4 July), at noon. The database will show the details of 153 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. The database will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis and Premium Club subscribers will also receive a 9,983-word report on the 153 new additions to the database. The database is segmented into seven categories – cafe bakery, casual dining, experiential leisure, fine dining, hotels, pubs and bars, and quick service restaurants – making it even easier for users to search. The database includes new openings in the experiential leisure sector such as a new experiential concept at Hall & Woodhouse’s The Quay pub in Poole in Dorset, US interactive museum and social gaming experience Skyscape, making its UK debut in London’s Covent Garden, and We Play Padel, opening in Yorkshire. Premium Club subscribers will also receive all the videos from the Propel Multi-Club Conference – female leaders and entrepreneurs, on Friday, 11 July. They include Ellen Chew, the UK-based Singaporean restaurateur with 15 venues, talking about her journey to success, and Zoe Bowley, managing director of Greene King Pubs, talking about “coming home”. Having rejoined the pub sector she joined 30 years ago, she shares insights on how the landscape has changed in terms of business, leadership, and female presence. Premium Club subscribers also receive access to five other databases: the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the Multi-Site Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Operational Excellence Conference this month and discounts on specialist sector reports. Operators that are Premium Club subscribers are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club subscribers receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club subscribers will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club subscribers also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Greggs shares fall sharply on profit warning: Shares in Greggs fell sharply yesterday as it warned that profits may decline this year, exacerbating concerns the company is facing a protracted slowdown. The 2,649-strong company reported a 2.6% increase in like-for-like sales in the first half of the year, compared with a 2.9% rise in the first 20 weeks and noted footfall had recently been hit by “very high temperatures”. Its shares fell 15% on the news. The profit warning comes after Greggs’ chief executive Roisin Currie said in May that she was confident a sales boost from warm spring weather would continue. But a heatwave in the UK and much of Europe, which has pushed temperatures above 30C, has meant fewer people outside and fewer customers. Analysts at Barclays questioned how much of Greggs’ warning is related to weather hitting sales and how much is down to management’s concern about the outlook for sales in the second half of the year. “After a weak last quarter of 2024 we can add a weather warning to the narrative,” said Richard Taylor, an analyst at the bank. The Newcastle-based company said it remained confident about achieving 140 to 150 net openings for the full year. But as sales have softened, investors are “reasonably questioning whether the scale of the rollout is still appropriate [there are] concerns of overexpansion”, said Taylor. Analysts forecast that Greggs has been dealing with a near £100m increase in costs as a result of measures announced at last year’s Budget, including increases to employers’ national insurance. Analysts at Peel Hunt said the weather had clearly hit Greggs, but they were equally concerned over “the group’s relative value proposition being eroded in the eye of the consumer”. The company’s long-term plans to hit 3,500 stores were described as overly ambitious by Peel Hunt. It said: “This implies store densities of one Greggs for every 19,000 people, which comes well ahead of McDonald’s store estate and ahead of Costa.”

Business confidence remains weak following NI rise: Business confidence “remains weak” following the £25bn rise in national insurance, while tax is still the biggest concern among employers, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned. The Times reports that less than half of companies expect their sales to grow over the next 12 months – the second lowest figure recorded in the BCC’s quarterly economic survey since the aftermath of the mini-budget debacle in September 2022. After the increase in employer national insurance contributions came into force at the start of April, along with a higher minimum wage, tax was cited as the “biggest worry” for businesses, the group said, and concerns about inflation remain high. Labour continues to be “far and away” the main cost pressure for firms, cited by three quarters of respondents. Confidence levels were lowest in the hospitality and retail sectors, the BCC said. As businesses face increased cost pressures, nearly a quarter say they have cut back on investment plans, while about a fifth have increased their plans. The survey, closely watched by policymakers, covers April to June this year and polled more than 4,500 companies, most of which are small or medium-sized. The proportion of businesses saying they expect to raise their prices in the next three months stands at 44%, down from a near-historic high for the long-running survey of 55% in the first quarter. “This suggests a moderation in new price rises after firms made adjustments ahead of the national insurance increase,” the group said.