THE ZONE

Gen Z is drinking at lower rates than
adolescents have in generations before.
US data firm Nielsen found that 66 per
cent of legal-aged drinkers between 21
and 34 are working on cutting down their
consumption too. If that’s not enough,
consider why Whole Foods listed zeroproof
drinks on its list of Top 10 Food
Trends for 2020.
When forecasting winners, one of
the first items we evaluate is where a
trend came from. Jeff Hollander, CEO of
Hairless Dog Brewing Company, shared
where its 0.0 line came from: “We saw
the craft beer explosion in which every
possibility and style of beer was being
brewed. Then we saw how careful the
selection process of consumers was. This
was all going on parallel to a wellness
explosion that increased consumer
awareness of what they were putting into
their bodies. Consumers started asking
whether eggs were cage-free, whether
steaks were grass-fed, and whether bread
was gluten-free. This mindful consumer
was now infiltrating every existing
category with the exception of beer. So we
decided to brew a 0.0 beer.”
Not only is the non-alcoholic revolution
a response to the mindful consumer, but
the increase in the availability of nonalcoholic
options is also solving a problem
that already existed. On top of that, nonalcoholic
beverages are practical, make life
easier and safer, and ask consumers for a
very slight change in behaviour.
Money maker?
Often lost in excitement is dissension
so, in this process, I wanted to turn over
every stone and truly see whether the
non-alcoholic category has what it takes
to chase down BYND. Sure,
$30 billion is something to write home
about, but it’s still only three per cent of
the trillion-dollar global alcohol market.
The question we need to ask ourselves
comes from a 1994 book by Al Ries and
Jack Trout, The 22 Immutable Laws of
Marketing. Law 21, The Law of Acceleration,
says that successful programmes are not
built on fads, they’re built on trends.
“A fad is but a wave in the ocean and a
trend is the tide. The fad is very visible,
but it goes up and down in a big hurry.
Like the tide, a trend is almost invisible
but it’s very powerful.”
To most, BYND was invisible. To know
whether something is a fad or a trend,
don’t look to social media, look to stats.
People may have been drinking more
during quarantine, and the number
of places that sell alcoholic beverages
in the US grew by more than 100,000
between 2007 and 2017 from 528,594
to 644,647, but a 2017 Nielsen report
showed that the US is experiencing a
decelerating alcoholic beverage growth.
According to a new report, American
adolescents are binge drinking less
than they used to. They still might
be categorised as a ‘drinker’, but NA
beverages aren’t just for the sober.
Someone who has cut back from regularly
having two or three glasses of wine with
dinner to having only a glass once a week,
for example, would still fall into the
same statistical category, and that’s the
opportunity: inviting this drinker in.
Three Spirit reports that the customers
who want a pick-me-up or a relaxing
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