Many abstain from alcohol, sugar, or meat in January. Fasting is no longer just done during the fasting period. Abstinence is in the spotlight at the beginning of the year, but it’s a business all year round.

In January, many focus on abstinence. This desire to do without is driven by the zeitgeist - the longing for relaxation, resilience, and health. But abstinence goes hand in hand with alternatives - be it in the form of consuming other products or in another form. This gives rise to business areas worth billions. An overview:

Detoxing – fasting: Fasting is now part of the nearly 700 billion dollar wellness tourism industry, as many do not want to fast alone at home, but 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. According to expert Roland Lymann from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the reason why there are hardly any specialised hotels in Switzerland is partly due to tradition and partly to the way health insurance companies cover the costs. Unlike in Germany, fasting guests often have to pay for the cures themselves.

Claire Micallef

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Dry January: In January, one in eight people in Switzerland abstains from alcohol. The "Dry January" initiative originally came from the UK. The initiator is Emily Robinson, who was training for a half marathon at the time and therefore abstained from alcohol for a month. She noticed the importance of alcohol and the conversations about it in British society. With ‘Dry January’, she wanted to establish the benefits of being "alcohol-free".

Non-alcoholic drinks are also gaining importance throughout the year. In fact, this beverage category is among those that have seen the strongest growth in the past five years. By 2030, sales of non-alcoholic spirits or non-alcohol beer will reach several billion dollars. In Switzerland, the share of non-alcoholic beer in the total 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 conclusion of the Vegan Society Switzerland, which actively promotes Veganuary for the fifth time. The idea originally comes from the UK. The movement advocates a diet of purely plant-based foods.

Vegan products are now part of the food industry: the market value of vegan foods worldwide is close to 16 billion dollars (2021). According to forecasts, it will grow to nearly 22.3 billion by 2025. Sales are also increasing in Europe:

Last year, over 120 new vegan products were launched in Switzerland in January alone. The proportion of vegans in Switzerland is 0.7 %. Four years ago, it was 0.3 %.

Sugar-free: What is considered "sugar" is controversial. For some, honey or dextrose also count as types of sugar that they avoid during the so-called "sugar challenge". Others only steer clear of granulated sugar and therefore avoid desserts, sweet drinks or even dairy products to which sugar has been added. The market size for sugar-free food and beverages is estimated at just under 20 billion dollars. According to forecasts, this figure is set to rise to more than 23 billion by 2028.

Big business with abstinence

Detox: commercial gimmick or physiological necessity?

A nutritionist's opinion on diets and remedies that are popular after the holiday season

The excesses of the holiday season, from food to alcohol, can lead many to seek quick solutions. From lengthy fasting to miracle drinks, we hear all kinds of things, also thanks to social media.

The word detox makes insiders smile because it is a generic term, often linked to commercial purposes, that means everything and nothing at the same time. Detox from what? From the kilos accumulated over months of bad habits? From a few extra drinks?

Our body is a marvelous machine and naturally equipped with organs whose physiological task is precisely to filter the substances that are toxic and harmful on a daily basis. Substances that can enter our bodies through the environment (pollution and food), but also self-produced by the waste generated by our metabolism.

The liver, our purifying organ par excellence, needs nutrients such as vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, and proteins in order to carry out its detoxification capacities. For this reason, excessive food restriction in an attempt to purify ourselves does not really make sense.

So no to prolonged fasting or the total exclusion of protein, vegetables, and fruit.

If we feel weighed down and in need of a good "cleanse", the most effective and sustainable solution is to resume good eating habits, eliminating excesses.

So let’s help our kidneys, liver, and intestines by avoiding overloading them more than necessary with fatty foods, fried foods, sweets, flour, baked goods, ready meals, alcohol and coffee. Let’s drink enough, slow down, breathe deeply, move every day, and spend time in nature without necessarily adding further products that can sometimes even be harmful.

The advice is to rely on a good professional who will help you review your daily diet. And beware of those who exploit your guilt to sell miracle products or draconian diet plans.

Every time we feel the need, we return to a simpler lifestyle that respects our physiology, reserving excesses for the holidays.

Does the body need detox treatments?

No alcohol at Christmas: Companies react to trend

It doesn’t have to be just orange juice: More and more people are toasting with non-alcoholic drinks over Christmas and at New Year’s parties. The alcohol industry has responded to this demand and is offering an increasingly wide selection.

Non-alcoholic beverages are still a small market in Switzerland: the share of non-alcoholic beer is about five percent. However, the trend is clearly pointing upwards.

Even established brands realised this: The Danish brewery Carlsberg, which owns the Feldschlösschen brand, recorded a sales growth of eight percent with their non-alcoholic products in Switzerland in the second quarter of 2023, for example.

“Consumers everywhere want a healthier and more balanced lifestyle, and this also reflects in their choice of drink,” a Carlsberg spokesperson told the news agency AWP.  

According to current figures from the International Wine & Spirit Research Institute (IWSR), the non-alcoholic beverage category has been the most dynamic of all beverage categories in the last five years. By 2030, the market will have a volume of several billion dollars. "The trend towards non-alcohol is recognisable worldwide, and Switzerland is no exception," confirms a spokeswoman for Campari.

According to a spokeswoman for the spirits group Pernod Ricard, non-alcoholic beverages were responsible for a turnover of CHF 2 million in the local market last year. Demand doubled within a year. Non-alcoholic spirits were even the only category of the group to grow in Swiss retail.

And it should remain this way: “The outlook is extremely positive: by 2026, the non-alcoholic spirits segment is expected to grow in double digits,” said the spokeswoman. Compared to countries with more mature markets such as the UK, Switzerland has a large growth potential.

We are seeing strong interest in the cities.

Last year, Pernod Ricard founded an operational unit for non-alcoholic alternatives. For alcohol brands, it is also interesting from an advertising perspective to serve this market, as non-alcoholic drinks are not subject to the same advertising restrictions as the original products.

However, there is a dilemma when it comes to the price: “The production of our drinks is more expensive than the alcoholic equivalent because they have to be distilled twice,” says Christof Tremp, founder and CEO of the non-alcoholic beverage startup Rebels 0.0%. At the same time, customers are not willing to pay more for non-alcoholic drinks.

Generation Y consumes 20% less alcohol than their predecessors.

Unlike some competitors, Rebels 0.0% completely abstains from alcohol in the production process. Therefore, the final product contains no alcohol residues. The CEO of the Zurich-based company, which was founded three years ago, says: “We are seeing a strong interest in the cities, with a pronounced trend in the age group of 30 to 45-year-olds and among women.”

In Tremp's opinion, completely alcohol-free cafés and shops could also establish themselves in Switzerland: “Generation Y consumes 20% less alcohol than their predecessors, the need for alternatives is great,” says the CEO. Meanwhile, Rebels 0.0% expects particularly high demand during the Christmas season and the following month of abstinence, the “Dry January”.

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Non-alcoholic drinks in vogue

Detox in January: well-being or scam?

What are the benefits of a month without alcohol?

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The idea of "Dry January" first came from the UK. For eleven years, health organisations have been calling for abstaining from alcohol for a month due to the high number of alcohol-related deaths in the age group of 14 to 49-year-olds.

In recent years, the "Dry January" campaign has also established itself in Switzerland. It is supported, among others, by Blue Cross and Addiction Switzerland. A study conducted by the University of Sussex in 2018 with 800 participants shows the positive effects a month without alcohol can have.

It’s remarkable that, although one is abstinent only for a period of time, one has a more conscious approach to alcohol in the long term.

People may fall back into their usual patterns, but they observe themselves better and understand better why they drink.

According to Philip Bruggmann, chief physician at the Centre for Addiction Medicine, the longer the break from alcohol lasts, the better blood pressure, stomach, and intestines recover. Moreover, the risk of developing various types of cancer can also decrease. What’s also worth mentioning: If you resume your drinking habits from before the break, the positive effects diminish, says Denise Zai.

The benefits of an alcohol-free month

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If you feel that you use your mobile phone too often, a new support offer might help: a coach for “digital detox”.   

In Switzerland, 7.4% of 15-19 year olds are diagnosed as being addicted to their smartphones. The mechanisms of this addiction are similar to those of other addictions such as drugs, tobacco or alcohol.   

But teenagers are not the only ones affected. Many people who use digital tools for professional or personal reasons feel drawn in by the algorithms and, by their own admission, spend far too much time on these activities.

“I constantly needed to check my emails, to stay connected so as not to miss out on an opportunity, or to develop my clientele,” explains Nathalie, an entrepreneur from Vaud, on the programme 19h30 on RTS.   

Clear-headed, she quickly recognises this emerging addiction: “I’ve always had a difficulty: I had to fight against this desire to always check my phone, to immediately respond to emails.”

To avoid falling into a real addiction, she began to work on herself with a pragmatic approach, based on very concrete changes. Thus, she forced herself to only check her mailbox at fixed times, in order to concentrate this activity on a specific time slot.

For assistance, Nathalie turns to Ellen Kocher, a personal coach specialising in “digital detox”, who believes that a gradual approach is the right solution.

Digital technology is part of our lives. We need to learn to deal with its downsides and find solutions to avoid negative impacts.

“You have to go step by step, very small steps. A detox where you no longer use any devices at all, that can’t work. One step at a time. It’s like with nutrition, until it becomes a habit,” says Ellen Kocher.

According to her, it's an illusion to believe that we can do without digital technology altogether: “It's part of our lives. We need to learn to deal with its downsides and find solutions to avoid negative impacts.”   

Solutions can vary not only from one coach to another, but also from one participant to another. Barbara Reibel, also a coach, emphasises the very personal dimension of each course: “It would be good to turn off the screens an hour before bedtime because of the blue light, and also to think about removing the smartphone from the bedroom. But everyone must find what is right for them.”   

Collective support can lead to solutions that you wouldn't have thought of on your own.

In addition to personalised coaching, she also runs workshops on this topic. For her, the group effect could be beneficial in helping some people disconnect: “Collective support can lead to solutions that you wouldn't have thought of on your own.”   

Digital technology itself can be a solution

In the range of solutions, digital technology itself can also prove to be an option. In recent years, numerous applications have emerged with the aim of reducing dependency on social networks and other screens.

German developer Frederik Riedel has developed One Sec, an application that slows down the connection to programs that take up too much of our time and attention.

The principle is simple. Users define in advance which applications they wish to add One Sec to. And when opening the application in question, they are invited to take a few seconds to breathe before being asked if they really want to connect.

“By taking this breath, you get a clearer head and know whether you need to post something on Instagram or whether you're opening the app out of reflex, out of boredom, and if so, you can leave the smartphone in your pocket,” explains Frederik Riedel.   