Jordan predicts that in the United States, non-alcoholic beer could end up making up a fifth of the total US beer market. For a brewer, that affords the option of turning alcoholic beer into two products: non-alcoholic beer and trendy hard seltzer.īen Jordan, CEO of ABV Technology. Once ABV Technology’s machines remove alcohol from beer, that booze can then be used for hard seltzers. One surprising incentive for craft brewers deciding whether to invest in non-alcoholic beers? The hard seltzer craze. The company was incorporated in 2017, and Jordan is its CEO. ABV Technology also offers its products to distilleries and wineries. So he set out to find a solution, eventually co-founding ABV Technology, which sells and rents machines that remove alcohol from beer to craft breweries, enabling them to get in on the trend. At the time, the non-alcoholic beer options were “pretty bad,” he said. “I was wanting to drink beer at parties and in social environments, but didn’t want the effects of ethanol,” he told CNN Business. While some, like Flavin, took stock of their drinking habits during the pandemic, others had been thinking about alcohol alternatives for years.įor Ben Jordan, it was challenging to find something flavorful but non-alcoholic to drink when he’d go to get-togethers while at graduate school, about a decade ago. She plans to open a non-alcoholic liquor store soon. Last year, she started selling some non-alcoholic drinks at her Minneapolis hair studio, Honeycomb Salon. “I was drinking that a lot, in a beautiful glass, and still having my little ritual at the end of the night,” she said. They come in flavors like grapefruit quince, dandelion ginger and elderberry maqui, made with red wine grape skins. She discovered Rishi Tea & Botanicals, which makes a line of “sparkling botanicals” drinks. Sick of seltzer, she explored other options. So in October 2020, she decided to quit drinking. Sean ClarkĮrin Flavin found herself imbibing more than she wanted to during the pandemic. “The biggest market play we’re seeing is this emphasized idea that customers can still gather, celebrate and enjoy a good drink while still abstaining from alcohol, whether that be for lifestyle choices or personal reasons,” Freier said.Įrin Flavin, seated facing the table, started researching non-alcoholic alternatives to booz when she quit drinking. And, with colorful cans and festive packaging, they’re designed to help non-drinkers blend in. But non-alcoholic beverage makers are positioning their products as more sophisticated and flavorful. Those drinkers could always reach for a seltzer or a soda, of course. Or they are aware of alcohol’s negative health effects, and want to consume less in general. Perhaps they have to drive home, or are trying to avoid a hangover. Or maybe they want to stay out late with friends, but keep drinking to a minimum. “They do drink alcohol, but they’re just trying to moderate.”Ī non-alcoholic beer or cocktail might appeal to consumers who, for example, are observing Dry January. So people are figuring it out.”īut, Stanford added, “I do wonder what the natural ceiling is for these products, because you don’t have the functionality of alcohol.” In other words, how many people really want booze without the buzz?ĭemand for non-alcoholic alternatives has been largely driven by younger consumers who want to drink less but aren’t interested in abstaining from alcohol altogether, Stanford said. “There is a real market force now to go and create those solutions and to really work at it,” he said. Stanford sees it this way: As interest in non-alcoholic alternatives rises, there’s a greater imperative for brands to deliver better products as more of them launch. Traditional beer sales fell 4% to about $46 billion, and sales of alcoholic wine declined 6% to nearly $20 billion. In that same period, non-alcoholic beer jumped 21% to $316 million and non-alcoholic wine rose 20% to $50 million. Alcoholic spirit sales slipped about 1% to just under $21 billion. In the year ending May 14, US retail sales of non-alcoholic spirits grew 116% to $4.5 million, according to NielsenIQ. But while alcohol sales slip, sales of their alcohol-free counterparts are soaring. Non-alcoholic booze alternatives are still a tiny market compared to regular alcoholic beverages. Mentions of Seedlip on drink menus has grown 100% year-over-year, Freier said, adding that “we’re now starting to see some new alcohol-free spirits show up on the market, especially in independent restaurants.” Seedlip “started to gain momentum a few years ago and continues to today,” said Lizzy Freier, director of menu research and insights at food service consulting firm Technomic.
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