Non-alcoholic Beer, wine, and spirits are all growing in popularity
Non-alcoholic beer has been brewed for over a century, and wine and non-alcoholic spirits are no longer a novelty either. But how are these products doing on the market?
The online alcohol sales platform in the USA, Drizly, claims that in 2022, the share of the non-alcoholic category grew by 24% compared to 2021. A significant fact that leads us to investigate the causes.
Who drinks alcoholic beverages, and why?
The increase in sales of soft drinks is mainly attributable to a greater propensity for a healthy lifestyle on the part of consumers. People today are much more aware of what they introduce into their diet. But not only.
Companies have shifted their attention to this market and invested in the production of higher-quality beverages. “We realized that there was a lot of stigma around beers and soft drinks in the US, especially the taste, and that led us to launch a non-alcoholic craft beer,” says Samantha Itzkovitz of Brooklyn Brewery.
Generation Z and millennials are the biggest consumers of soft drinks and are driving the non-alcoholic trend along with the health food trend. Generation Z drinks less alcohol and, in general, consumers have reevaluated their relationship with alcohol during the pandemic.
Confirming this trend is Dry January, a campaign born in England in 2013 that plans not to drink alcohol throughout the month of January. Today, Dry January has millions of participants, and it is precisely in January that Drizly records the highest number of orders for soft drinks.
Market data
According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, the U.S. soft drink market accounts for more than $414 million in sales, and the market is projected to expand by more than five percent annually from 2021 to 2026.
As the share of sales has increased, so has the number of options: Today, there are more than 100 non-alcoholic brands available on Drizly, up 70% from last year. In fact, many entrepreneurs have understood the potential of these products and have begun to bring to the market non-alcoholic options that are just as good and, in some cases, better than their alcoholic counterparts.
In 2022, non-alcoholic beer will account for 65% of soft drinks, versus 26% for non-alcoholic wine and 9% for non-alcoholic spirits. Within the beer category, non-alcoholic beer now accounts for 1.16% of the share of sales compared to 0.84% in 2021, up 38% year-on-year.
In short, the soft drink market is starting to be significant, and having options dedicated to this type of consumer now seems to be essential.