Russians, who are among the biggest drinkers in the world, are developing a new taste for alcohol-free beer, which could help save a brewing industry that has stalled under government initiatives to discourage drinking.
Sales of zero-alcohol beer jumped 12 percent last year even as the broader Russian market shrank by 2 percent, according to research firm Nielsen, extending a 40 percent slide in beer sales since the government tightened regulations in 2008.
Anheuser-Busch InBev plans to promote the alcohol-free version of its Bud brand as a sponsor of soccer's FIFA World Cup when Russia hosts it next year. Carlsberg's Russian unit, Baltika, which has the largest share of Russia's alcohol-free beer market, said in March that it was making new investments in zero-strength beer.