“More than just a trend”: in Béziers, the Chavin publishing house publishes a study on “Dry January”

Mathilde Boulachin, fondatrice et dirigeante de la Maison Chavin. Thomas Ancona-Léger – Midi Libre

Spécialisée dans le négoce de vins sans alcool, la maison Chavin, à Béziers, dévoile les résultats de son enquête sur le "Dry january", ce défi impliquant une sobriété totale pour le premier mois de l’année.

Relatively young (under 35), rather urban and generally with a higher level of education. This is, in a few words, the identikit portrait that can be drawn up of a participant in “Dry January”, this “dry January” in good French, which consists of abstaining from drinking alcohol during the first month of the year. At least, this is what a study carried out by the CSA institute for the Chavin company, a Béziers company specializing in the sale of alcohol-free wines, reveals.

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A challenge launched six years ago

“It's not just a simple trend, but a groundswell”, rejoices Mathilde Boulachin, the founder and director of the company. She cites two figures as proof, revealed by this study which involved a representative sample of a thousand French adults last November. According to the latter, 19% of the population would have participated at least once in this “January challenge”, launched for the first time six years ago in France by a collective made up of associations and health professionals. Better still, at the time of the survey, 12% of them said they wanted to take up the challenge this year.

A new type of consumer

“We are not here to promote Dry January, but rather to try to understand it and support it as best we can”, believes the director who generally notices a “increase in considerations for our health since the Covid 19 crisis”. “We have all collectively become aware that we are mortal, this has encouraged us to take better care of our bodies”. Hence the emergence of a new type of consumer: the “flexidrinkers”. An anglicism that designates a person alternating consumption of alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic alternatives with a view to achieving a healthier lifestyle.

Another piece of information highlighted by the survey: 47% of respondents say they have reduced their alcohol consumption after completing their January challenge. This is important data when you consider that alcohol is the cause of 49,000 deaths per year in France, according to figures from the Ministry of Health. The fact remains that a good third of the population has never heard of Dry January. Perhaps the fault lies with this English expression to which our Belgian neighbours have more mischievously preferred that of “mineral tour”.

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