So why would anyone want an alcohol-free drink?
Whether we like it or not - and I know the drinks marketeers amongst you will have views on this - alcohol-full drinks mostly sell themselves. For centuries we have known the effects of alcohol, and that is ultimately what we are buying.
So why would anyone want an alcohol-free drink? A drink that has had the alcohol removed, or that has never had any at all?
The answer lies in the role alcohol plays in our society, and in the differing motivations of the consumer. Because the growth of alcohol-free drinks is not a story of sobriety, but about moderation, control, choice and inclusion.
Until 2017 when Heineken 0.0 and Big Drop hit the UK market, the only alcohol-free options were, in most part, soft drinks. The same drinks you would use to hydrate throughout the day, served in a glass tumbler with a straw. Sweet and fruity, they suited kids, and doubled up as the option for the drivers and other adults not drinking. They never even tried to compensate for the loss of taste, loss of experience, and loss of social inclusion.
We have come a long way in the last few years. The key to winning in alcohol-free in 2022 is to understand that whilst people want to be healthier, and 60% of the UK adult population are planning to do this by drinking less alcohol, they don’t like the feeling of loss that comes with picking a ‘compromise drink’. That sickly sweet dayglow bottle of fruit juice that sadly still presents itself as the only option in some venues.
This is a classic tale of loss aversion. Brands and venues need to find what they’re offering in their drinks for consumers to mitigate ‘loss’ and instead create new ‘gains’ - in tastes, experiences, and the social experience.
In research conducted at our Mindful Drinking Festival in Brighton in July, by The Mix Global and Club Soda, we tried to uncover what the different types of customers who are drinking more mindfully are looking for from their drinks. We discovered three emerging behaviours.
Conscious of how alcohol impacts the way they want to live, many people have started to moderate their drinking in traditional alcohol-led occasions. They may take days off and save alcohol for special occasions only. But they still want to participate fully in every social moment. They will happily alternate between alcohol-full and alcohol-free drinks throughout the week and in each moment.
Wellness is still a dominant trend, and some drinkers are looking to align all aspects of their lives to improve their physical and mental health. They care about their diet, take part in physical activity, and put a lot of importance on clean living. At the extreme of wellness they are partial to functional ingredients. Imagine coming out of the pub with a health as well as social boost!
It is now hard to ignore alcohol-free, there are lots of drinkers whose curiosity has been piqued. They are open-minded consumers, not necessarily seeking to moderate their drinking, but still interested in finding out what the flavours and experiences are like when you take alcohol out of a drink.
Understanding these behaviours shows that a venue's range can’t just be a single adult alcohol-free option. A wide range of good quality, interesting low and no drinks is an attractive offer to a big chunk of your customers.
For drink producers it is understanding the flavours and ingredients that unlock a particular customer for you. For some it will be mood enhancing properties, for others provenance, and for others replicating the taste that signals an enjoyable social experience.
Most of all it is clear that when it comes to alcohol-free, there is a lot more going on in the bottle than you think.If you need help exploring low and no alcohol drinks, you will be pleased to know that Club Soda is opening the UK’s first specialist low and no alcohol tasting rooms and bar in Covent Garden in November. We have launched a Crowdfunder campaign to help us raise the funds to make this a place of discovery for consumers, brands, venues, and the wider drinks industry.
