How low can you go? The no and low alcohol sector

Having a Teetotal of a Time

Welcome to Dry July. Whether it’s the booze bus, the ‘my body is a temple’ mantra or keeping yourself nice on social media, it is no longer socially unacceptable to abstain. The Millennials are leading the way, championing a lifestyle that continues the social ritual we associate with alcohol but with a new range of quality non-alcohol products hitting the market.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics continues to report alcohol consumption is declining. From March this year: “One in six (16.1%) persons aged 18 years and over consumed more than two standard drinks per day on average, exceeding the lifetime risk guideline in 2017-18. This continued the decline from 17.4% in 2014-15 and 19.5% in 2011-12.

It also states that young adults were less likely to exceed the lifetime risk guideline compared with older adults. One in ten (10.6%) young adults aged 18-24 years exceeded the lifetime risk guideline compared with just over one in six (18.2%) adults aged 3574 years.” Millennials are conscious about their drinking and are drinking less than previous generations.

This trend is also not unique to Australia. Just Drinks UK reported on a study in late 2017 on Gen Z, (16-24 year-olds) by marketing consulting firm Protein. When a Gen Z consumer sample group was asked how often they drank, 28% said they made the decision to drink less while 26 % said they had never been a drinker. Protein asked the respondents what worried them most about drinking, 21% said pictures on social media, 29 per cent said health, while 30 per cent reported being too hungover to be productive.

The market presented itself and the products followed. Whether it is a drink unashamedly trying to taste, smell and look like its alcoholic counterpart or whether it is offering a new and unique taste altogether, the non-alcohol sector is exciting, and consumers are embracing it.

Non-alcoholic cocktails are becoming a regular feature on drinks lists in high-end bars. Mixologists are embracing the increasing number of non-alcohol products on the market and creatively curating alcohol-free concoctions with gusto. No more need to order a G&T and hold the gin.

In the more mature markets of the US and UK we are seeing the on-premise channel rising to the meet the consumer demand with a wave of non-alcoholic cocktail bars providing all the theatre and creativity that you would expect in any bar. In London a couple of popular dry bars are Sobar in Nottingham, a favourite among abstainers, and Redemption with drinks trade|29

venues in trendy Shoreditch and Notting Hill; it’s bar motto is ‘spoil yourself without spoiling yourself’.

Seeing the future, the big drinks producers are getting in on what they see as an inevitable and growing slice of the drinks pie. CUB launched its first no-alcohol beer with Carlton Zero, and according to a spokesman for CUB, the release has been one of the most successful new product launches they’ve ever had.

Sales of no and low alcohol beers now represent 20 per cent of the company’s beer sales while Australian sales of non-alcohol beers have grown 57 per cent in the past five years. We have a long way to go, however, compared to overseas markets of US, Europe and Canada, sales in Australia are still modest, so there is a excellent opportunity for the sector here.

Data from market research company IRI shows monthly sales of non-alcoholic beer in bottle shops have increased up to 10-fold since Carlton Zero’s launch.

“Part of the company’s ‘better world’ commitment is promoting responsible drinking. That means we are committed to having 20 per cent of our global revenue coming from no or low alcohol beer,” says Marketing Director CUB, Alexander Lambrecht.

“To be honest, there was a time when non-alcohol beers were no good and didn’t taste like beer. Carlton Zero, and similar propositions we have launched around the world, taste incredibly well. I love the product. I drink it a lot,” he says.

Diageo has invested a minority stake in Seedlip, and globally Pernod Ricard has recently got in with the Swedish non-alcohol spirit company Ceder’s for exclusive distribution. In terms of globally, Australia is yet to catch up with the number of products that have hit the shelves in overseas markets. There are products a-plenty such as Stryyk Not Rum and Strykk Not Gin or non-alcohol whisky, Whissin produced by Spanish non-alcohol drinks company Espafador. Other overseas brands include the world’s first non-alcohol gin, the Danish Herbie Virgin distilled with juniper, Danish apples, lavendar and orange peel and made using the same production method and equipment as the alcoholic version.

In the Australian market, we have Seedlip, the original distilled non-alcohol spirit created by UK entrepreneur, Ben Branson ( read the interview on page 26). His product has gone on to inspire Tim Triggs, creator and founder of ALTD, an all Australian alcohol-free spirit range made using Australian botanicals. Triggs has been abstinent for four years and was given a bottle of Seedlip at a time when he was experimenting with distilling to produce fragrances. Just like Branson, Triggs is also a self-taught distiller, but as an ex-hospo worker and bartender he brings to his venture an innate understanding of what makes a good drink and passion for the sector.

“I thought let’s see what we can do. I wanted to make something that was interesting and different to drink regardless of whether it had alcohol in it or not,” says Triggs.

“People are rethinking their drinking, and that is what we are about. Gone are the days of competitive drinking, the currency of cool is changing. We want to be proudly alcohol-free.”

This year saw the release of another big contender called Lyre’s. The new brand released not just one, but thirteen alcohol-free spirits including Absinthe, Amaretto, American Malt, Coffee Liqueur, Dark Cane Spirit, Dry London Spirit, Dry Vermouth, Highland Malt, Italian Orange, Spiced Cane Spirit, Triple Sec, Vermouth Rosso and White Cane Spirit. Lyres is not focussed on original tastes and experimenting with botanicals but instead is trying to be the spirit we all know and love but without the alcohol component.

Founder Mark Livings says chatting with drinkers has confirmed his view that days are numbered for the word ‘spirit’ to connote an alcoholic beverage. He says the non-alcoholic genie is out of the bottle.

“We’re seeing this tectonic shift in how consumers are drinking. People still want the highly intense liquids that are evocative of spirits in their traditional sense, as part of their beverage choices,” says Livings.

“Consumers ‘get’ nonalcoholic spirits, and based on our experience so far, they have been waiting on their arrival for some time.”

Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip

Tim Triggs, creator and founder of ALTD