Non-Alcoholic Spirits Are Here to Stay. Here’s Why.
Lifestyle changes, health reasons, and choice are driving people to NA spirits.
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Non-alcoholic, or NA, spirits have found firm footing in the drinks world. Mainstream? Perhaps not quite yet. But all NA spirits clearly appeal to a wider swath of the populace than they did not long ago, and the trend is only going to continue picking up steam in the years ahead.
According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, the growth of NA spirits has been staggering. In the U.S., sales volume grew 289% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) between 2016 and 2020, and 78.9% last year alone. Perhaps the growth of a nascent category with minuscule volume to start with can’t be replicated over the long-term. But IWSR still projects double-digit annual growth for the next five years, forecasting a 12.6% CAGR growth in sales volume from 2021 to 2025.
Distill Ventures, the craft investment wing of Diageo that works with several NA spirits brands, has data indicating that there are now 71 non-alcoholic spirits brands in the U.S. and U.K. A more comprehensive list compiled by Alcademics shows a total of 115 brands currently available for sale around the world.
A Pandemic Surge
The Covid-19 pandemic uprooted everyone’s lives to some degree, and while the popular media talking point was that people were drinking more as a means to cope, for many, the opposite was true.
“The Covid-19 pandemic really allowed a lot of individuals to reprioritize themselves, to reconsider what they needed to do in order to take care better care of themselves,” says
Lauren Paylor,
a bartender and spirits educator based in Washington, D.C., who advocates for health and wellness in the bar world, and has served as a brand ambassador for leading NA brand Seedlip.
“Due to the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, there have been myriad reasons bubbling to the surface for people to find ways to survive lockdown mentally as well as physically,” says
Tatiana Mercer,
the co-founder of NA brand Three Spirit Drinks, which is newly available in the U.S. The company calls itself the world’s first plant-powered social elixir, with a lineup of products they rank from energizing to unwinding.
“Three Spirit is a U.K.-based business, and it’s no secret that drinking alcohol increased in lockdown for the U.K.,” Mercer says. “But we can see that a lot of people also reassessed their relationship with alcohol and well-being at this time.” Three Spirit’s sales e grew 160% after the first U.K. lockdown.”
Mercer believes the move toward NA spirits will continue post-pandemic. “We’ve survived this pandemic by putting our health first, that’s an attitude that people want to hold on to still,” Mercer says.
Three NA cocktail books recently debuted on bookshelves within an eight-month period.
Julia Bainbridge’s
Good Drinks: Alcohol-Free Recipes for When You’re Not Drinking for Whatever Reason, was released in October, with a range of enticing recipes and drinks hacks for a healthy and moderate lifestyle;
Maureen Petrosky’s
Zero Proof Drinks & More: 100 Recipes for Mocktails & Low-Alcohol Cocktails, appeared in January, with approachable NA cocktails, as well as large-batch party drinks and low-ABV alternates; and Elva Ramirez’s Zero Proof Cocktails: 90 Non-Alcoholic Recipes for Mindful Drinking, was released in May, focused on sourcing intensive recipes from the bar world.
A growing number of cocktail bars are stocking booze-free spirits.
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Not Just For Sober People
“Today, it’s socially acceptable—even cool—not to drink, with a few key reasons driving the choice to opt out,” Mercer says. “As individuals focus more on what’s right for them, cultural systems around alcohol are being challenged and losing hold.”
Mercer says lifestyle changes, health reasons, and choice are driving people to NA spirits. “Never have we had more choice for anything from meat to milk to medicine,” Mercer says. “Consumers are seeking alternatives and looking to nature and plants where there can be healthier options.” She adds that 80% of Three Spirit customers are drinkers of alcohol.
It represents a sea change not only in availability of information and products, but in their acceptance and adoption. A 2019 Nielsen study cited by Wilderton, a non-alcoholic spirits brand based in Portland, indicates that 66% of drinkers between 21 and 34 years of age are actively seeking to cut down their alcohol consumption.
Responsibility.org, an effort from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, reported in a study a decline in binge drinking by American youth of nearly 50% since its founding 30 years ago. The same study showed 87% of American adults self-report that they currently are confident they drink responsibly.
There’s now a burgeoning scene of NA bars around the world where non-alcoholic cocktails are served in energetic, evening-oriented gathering hubs. These include The Other Side in
Crystal Lake,
Ill.,
Sans Bar
in Austin, 0% Non-Alcohol Experience in Tokyo, and Listen Bar and Ambrosia Elixirs in New York. Others, such as Vena’s Fizz House in Portland, Maine, do serve alcohol, but keep NA serves on equal footing in terms of quantity, quality, and presence.
“No one is judging you for drinking, just as we’d expect not to be judged for not drinking,” Mercer says. “Be curious, be flexible, and don’t knock it till you have tried it.”
