2 minute read
zero-zone Changing New Zealand’s Drinking Culture
Founder and director of Finery, Jane Allan, shared that she was a mother of two boys, aged 11 and 8 years old and had a background in management across development and construction, mainly regarding financial and project management.
Jane Allan Founder & Director, Finery
panning back 20 odd years, a male-dominated industry with a heavy drinking culture. In the late ‘90s, I worked two jobs, by day in a developer’s office and by night at local bars and nightclubs,” said Allan.
In 2018, Allan’s sons were six and three, and while working full-time on high-end renovation projects, she had also taken on a training programme for a leaner, healthier lifestyle and body. As part of her training programme, Allan reduced her alcohol consumption to one alcoholic beverage per week.
After two weeks of no alcohol consumption and eating a raw, wholefood diet, Allan noticed a remarkable improvement in her mental and physical health. This led her to reevaluate her diet and lifestyle regarding beverages to improve her overall health.
Allan commented that Australia and New Zealand have a socially dominant drinking culture. When she wanted to maintain the sociability of going out with friends, Allan wanted not to be judged while having a drink minus the calories with little to no alcohol.
“Nothing on the menus told me ‘it’s ok you’re not drinking’. Everything was childlike or full of sugar.”
For Finery, creating a beverage for New Zealanders that affirmed that it was okay to drink or not drink alcohol was the primary goal. Secondly, it was for the beverages to look and taste the same, to remove the question of why someone was not drinking. Furthermore, normalising ‘mixing it up’ underpinned Finery’s goals for future generations as the business aims to change New Zealand’s established drinking culture. Allan hopes that by the time her sons reach an appropriate drinking age, Finery has addressed New Zealand’s drinking culture and made a positive change towards helping New Zealanders build healthier relationships with alcohol, removing the binge drinking culture that has been prevalent since the ‘80s. By 2030 Finery, as part of the broader zero categories, intends to have reshaped New Zealand’s drinking culture by ensuring that better-for-you low and no-alcohol beverages are accessible and affordable throughout New Zealand.
Allan described the demand for the zeropercent beverage market as a reflection of consumers prioritising their health and wellbeing, elaborating that the pandemic was a turning point for many as time was allowed to slow down and New Zealanders were able to assess what habits they had in their personal and working lives that they did or did not like.
Over-consuming has become a common phrase for consumers who have reflected on incorporating zero-percent beverages into their weekly routines.
Allan noted that consumers are inclined to mixing their favourite everyday beverages with an in-between option, choosing lower calorie and carbohydrate options of their favourite flavours. Secondly, Allan shared