Whether you are sober curious or just plain done with the booze bash of the next day, alcohol consumption is changing, and it’s not just about the hangover. The non-alcoholic business is expected to reach a whopping $225 billion by 2030, Consumers are drinking less, and exciting great tasting non-alcoholic mocktails, beers, spirits are everywhere. But is the booze cruise of the past finished ?
Mindful Drinking & The Social Celebration
It is all about choice. Branding before was focused on the output, and the effects of enjoying the non-alcoholic beverage, or the social setting in which you could enjoy the drink. Nowadays, it is about the input. Nutrition facts, functional and wellness benefits are the first go-to when looking at brands, and it is not just about the sugar content.
Know your Consumer needs …what is the caffeine content, is it gluten free, are there any carbs, how many calories, how about artificial flavours, are all questions which the consumer asks. Different Generational groups respond in ways that often can give insights into their needs.
In the USA, according to Drizly research, 23% of Gen Z & Millennial consumers said they drink non-alcoholic beer, wine or spirits, while only 6% of Gen X and 1% of Baby Boomers said the same. The upcoming Generations will certainly shape the future of the beverage industry, but it will not be a blind blanket non-alcoholic sweep. Details matter to the consumer, from whatever Generation they hail from.
Consumers want to know, before they even try the drink, what they are putting in their bodies. Every number counts and every % is analyzed. I wish much strength to any brand who embellishes or exaggerates any claim. They will be found out. Today’s social celebration is about mindful drinking.
Sober October & Dry January
According to ‘Civic Science’, an average of about 10% of Americans (and 17% of Gen Z- Millennials) will take part in Sober October and around 27% of Americans will take part in Dry January. COVID really helped to push this trend and we are seeing the incredible offering & choice of non-alcoholic mocktails and beverages really boom during these months. But actually, what is happening is even more profound. It began with Dry January, expanded out to another snappy cool name- Sober October- but now we are seeing the growth of the year-round hybrid drinker. The hybrid drinker is the individual who wants to interchange between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during any social occasion. And this consumer is beginning to define the new definition of sober curious.
Check out a recent article from Forbes Magazine: It’s Not Just Dry January: The Rise Of Sober October
Sober Curious
Who says, I don’t drink anymore? Certainly alcohol consumption is reducing at a rate no other previous Generation has experienced, but when someone says they do not drink anymore, it can actually mean, I will decide when, how and if I drink, but it is not a core part of my social activity. I will partake in it if I so desire. Self-awareness, control are no longer buzzwords.
There is a big difference between enjoying a drink with friends and drinking alcohol, and the latter is clearly problematic in its tone of voice, but who doesn’t want to enjoy a social drink with colleagues or friends. Here is the kicker. No one is saying stop, what the sense today is that why should you drink to a point where you are dehydrated and incapable of managing the wonderful next day. How can I explore my curiosity around flavors, color, garnish, ingredients. Today, consumers want to know more than just alc %.
Hydration with Taste
Being able to socialize but at the same time hydrate is a win-win for everybody. We also know that 7 out of 10 Americans are dehydrated with or without alcohol so to be able to combine a functional hydration necessity with a social leisure non-alcoholic moment is a win for everybody.
Hydration used to be for the athletes, now it is for the Fans and their real need for a non-alcoholic alternative which combines hydration with taste. Taste was always, and still is, to a large extent, the driving force behind a purchase. However, if a beverage has taste, but the Nutrition facts do not add up, and the story around the brand is too fake, or the ingredients are too artificial and there is a feeling the brand is lacking in authenticity then the beverage can be the best tasting, but it simply will not fly with today’s consumer.
Functional Beverages
It is not just about the Nutrition facts either. The Sober curious drinker who enjoys non-alcoholic drinks, also wants to make sure there is a reason for choosing one brand over another, and if the non-alcoholic brand has a functional advantage, it will be preferred. This can be through adaptogens or an electrolyte content supporting hydration, but the functional benefit must be genuine and easily understood.
Ingredient Origin, not just Recipe
When we were developing ROLUS, the functional element was important, but after talking to doctors, dieticians and wellness professionals we realized that ingredient origin was just as important as the simple ingredient itself. It is the origin that makes an ingredient taste and blend well. Choosing simply from the Greatest hits of adaptogens and blending in a Laboratory or kitchen sink, just is not what the consumer is looking for today.
Just imagine, it makes total sense…think of the difference between saying we used sea salt for electrolytes, vs we used sea salt that came from Hawaii, harvested at depths with no micro-plastics and dried in closed solar panel heated units to leave not just the sodium but also trace elements to improve the taste and make-up of the electrolyte benefits. WOW! And we did the same for Greek Verbena, harvested at a higher altitude, (so the plant has to work harder, and in turn delivers better taste), at the foot of Mount Olympus in the cradle of the Greek Gods! Holy Zeus! Or the Asian Ginseng, harvested in NE Asia, home of ginseng, after 5 years, with more sweetness than bitterness which ageing delivers to this adaptogen.
Did somebody say Hawaiian Sea Salt?
The Future is ROLUS
Here is the future that ROLUS believes in…do you remember the last time you felt like Superman or Wonder Woman on a night out, drinking with friends, colleagues, and then the next morning feeling like Bob or Wendy the Builder with a chainsaw being used to mow the lawn in your head, well maybe, just maybe you can now still be a Superhero at night, interchanging your favorite alcoholic drink with ROLUS, (our non-alcoholic botanical hydrating functional beverage, with a taste sourced from around the World and Made in America), and in the morning, having had a tremendous night, still feel like Scooby Doo and the Thunderbirds – oh no, have I just given my age away…😊