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Many people give up alcohol, sugar or meat in January. Fasting no longer occurs during Lent, but in January. The waiver is in the spotlight at the beginning of the year, but it is a business all year round.
In January, for many people, the focus is on doing without. The driving force behind the desire to do without is the zeitgeist – the longing for relaxation, resilience and health. But renunciation goes hand in hand with alternatives – be it in the form of consuming other products or in another form. This creates business areas worth billions. An overview:
Detox – Fasting: Fasting is now part of the almost 700 billion dollar wellness tourism industry, because many people don’t want to fast alone at home, but rather together with others in hotels. In Germany and Austria there are special clinics or fasting hotels; in Switzerland, hotels or monasteries make their rooms available to external groups who go on fasting holidays under the guidance of experts. Expert Roland Lymann from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences sees the reason why there are hardly any specialized hotels in Switzerland, on the one hand, in tradition and, on the other hand, in the fact that health insurance companies cover the costs. Unlike in Germany, fasting people often have to pay for the cures themselves.
Legend: No food makes you happy? This is especially true for fasting hotels and clinics, where people can fast together for expensive money. Getty Images/Liliya Krueger
Dry January: In January, one in eight people in Switzerland abstains from alcohol. The initiative for “Dry January” originally comes from Great Britain. The initiator is Emily Robinson, who was training for a half marathon and therefore abstained from alcohol for a month. She noticed the importance of alcohol and conversations about it in British society. With “Dry January” she wanted to establish the advantages of “alcohol-free”.
Legend: Non-alcoholic beer and other drinks with 0.0 percent alcohol by volume are very popular. Keystone/FELDSCHLOESSCHEN
But non-alcoholic drinks also become more important throughout the year. In fact, the beverage category is one of those that has developed the most in the last five years. By 2030, several billion dollars will be generated from non-alcoholic spirits or beer. In Switzerland, the share of non-alcoholic beer in the overall market is now almost six percent.
Veganuary: No meat, no dairy products, no eggs. In January, seven percent of adults in Switzerland eat vegan. This is the conclusion reached by the Swiss Vegan Society, which is actively promoting Veganuary for the fifth time. The idea originally comes from Great Britain. The movement promotes eating purely plant-based foods.
Vegan products are now part of the food industry: the market value of vegan food worldwide is almost 16 billion dollars (2021). According to forecasts, it will grow to almost 22.3 billion by 2025. Sales are also increasing in Europe:
Last year, over 120 vegan products were launched in Switzerland alone in January. The proportion of vegans in Switzerland is 0.7 percent. Four years ago it was 0.3 percent.
Sugar free: What counts as “sugar” is controversial. For some, honey or glucose are also among the types of sugar that they avoid in the so-called “sugar challenge”. Others just avoid granulated sugar and avoid desserts, sweet drinks or even dairy products that have added sugar. The market size for sugar-free foods and drinks is estimated at almost $20 billion. According to forecasts, by 2028 there will be more than 23 billion.