Non-Alcoholics Anonymous

Hi everyone and welcome to the interview and analysis corner! This week, we’re going to hear from beverage industry specialist, operations master, drinks connoisseur and close friend of mine: Megan Dewhirst.

She’s giving us her thoughts on the recent trend in non-alcoholic drinks, Gen Z’s push to lead healthier lifestyles, and the companies that are crushing it in the non-alcoholic space.

Let’s dig in.

Hi there, Megan speaking.

This month, the Wall Street Journal covered Athletic, a non-alcoholic beer company taking the drinks industry by storm. I thought I’d try to figure out what’s going on and, crucially, why more people are eyeing up non-alcoholic drinks?

Setting The Scene

As someone who has worked behind the bar, created cocktail menus, and navigated beverage supply networks, the discussion of non-alcoholic options is always on the table. And I take as much time to understand non-alcoholic beverages as I do everything else!

In the early days of non-alcoholic drinks, they were often thought of as an “extra” for the designated driver or pregnant friend.

Now the game has changed and it’s so exciting! As Athletic has demonstrated, non-alcoholic beer does not have to mean simple. From notes of mango and lychee to hints of guava, it can be packed with just as much flavour as any ordinary beer.

The cocktail scene has been building on this too. Panacea, a bar in Auckland, uses drink clarification and carbonation to produce non-alcoholic beverages with a long shelf life that competes with the alcoholic options.

In Manchester, UK, the pop-up bar, Love From, opened with the message “cutting out isn’t missing out” and rewrote the narrative on sociability and drinking, describing their bar as a place for the “sober curious”.

What Does This Mean?

Simply, this is inclusion. Healthy drinking doesn’t have to make you an outsider. You can still take a seat at the bar and enjoy the social environment it offers.

The options are making healthy living accessible.

The Important Question: Why?

In the age of fitness pages and brand campaigns the new generation is increasingly valuing a healthy lifestyle, convenience, and drinking BETTER instead of MORE.

With only 30% of 16-24 year-olds reporting that they drink once a week, Gen Z are among the least likely to drink.

Not only that, but more young people are becoming concerned with their drunk actions being found online. 60% of Gen Z-ers associate alcohol with loss of control and 40% associate it with anxiety.

So, with Gen Z drinking less and being more cautious with their image, it’s no wonder the US non-alcoholic industry has spiked 31% in the last year.

What’s Next?

As the Wall Street Journal highlighted, 80% of buyers of Athletic buy this in addition to drinking regular beer.

Being in the beverage industry, I have seen this firsthand; people often drink one or two alcoholic drinks and then move on to non-alcoholic drinking.

What we could be seeing is an environment, in which non-alcoholic beers and cocktails may not be a DIRECT substitution, but an innovative way to control drinking habits.

Of course, that’s not to say that non-alcoholic beers and cocktails are necessarily the “healthier” option, but they usually contain significantly fewer calories than regular alcoholic options.

For example, where a normal beer contains around 140-170 calories, non-alcoholic beer will hold around 17-90 calories.

My Concluding Thoughts

The future may not be completely non-alcoholic. However, with the non-alcoholic market already bringing in around $510 MILLION in annual revenue and healthy lifestyles capturing the attention of the younger generations, I’m confident that it’s no trend.

The options will only become tastier, more innovative, more inclusive and I’m excited to see the market grow.

It’s going to be a huge win for everyone!