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Non-alcoholic drinks are on the rise. Due to growing health-consciousness, especially among Gen Z, as well as more open-mindedness when it comes to drinking habits, the category is no longer as niche as it once was. For many, not drinking has lost its taboo.
One small but crucial part of the non-alcoholic trend is its own version of the most alcoholic of all drinks – spirits.
While spirits have traditionally had an ABV of 40% and a kick that you don’t get from wine or beer, non-alcoholic spirits provide consumers with something to add to their cocktails that doesn’t share either of these qualities.
How significant has growth been in the category-within-a-category? And why are consumers flocking to non-alcoholic spirits?
Is the trend growing?
Growth in the category has been significant, at similar levels to other non-alcoholic drinks.
Worldwide, according to Euromonitor, the category has a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%.
In Italy, for example, according to the consumer behaviour analytics company Circana, the category in off-trade has grown by 12.9% between 2023 and 2024. This is not quite as significant as non-alcoholic beer (15.4%) but it’s still strong growth.
In France, non-alcoholic spirits rose from taking up 2.3% of the market for spirits in volume, and 0.5% for value, in 2018, to 2.4% for volume and 0.6% for value in 2023.
In 2023, the category grew by 12.5%, compared to a 0.1% growth in spirits with alcohol.
Why do consumers want it?
Consumers desire non-alcoholic spirits for a range of reasons. A survey by Circana, for example, found that they are preoccupied by taste and health.
In a survey of participants in the EU, US and South Africa, 22% said they chose non-alcoholic spirits because they are better for them, 27% cited a better taste, and 27% mentioned plant-based ingredients. Most significantly, more than half (55%) would choose non-alcoholic spirits because they are ‘more refreshing.’
Furthermore, explains Ananda Roy, Circana’s senior vice president of global thought leadership and strategic insight, consumers are attracted by the relatively low costs and lower levels of taboo compared to alcoholic spirits.
“Any drink they choose, they choose it as an extension of their personal brand.”
Spiros Malandrakis, Head of Research for alcoholic drinks at Euromonitor
Nevertheless, there may be another reason. According to Spiros Malandrakis, head of research for alcoholic drinks at Euromonitor, consumer interest in non-alcoholic spirits is rooted in fashion rather than flavour.
“Any drink they choose, they choose it as an extension of their personal brand,” he said. “Adult non-alcoholic drinks are much closer to the fashion industry than they are to foods.”
To illustrate the point, he describes a spike in the sales of bourbon in the US last decade, which coincided with the popularity of TV series such as Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. Both shows include numerous scenes of characters consuming large quantities of bourbon, as well as, in Mad Men’s case, Old Fashioned cocktails, of which bourbon is a key ingredient.
Summing it up, he says, people want a drink that makes them feel part of the group and has a premium quality.
The next stage
Functional spirits, Malandrakis adds, are the next stage of the trend and what he sees as its future. “This is essentially a glimpse of the future of drinking, which will be functional.”
Functional drinks are a key part of the non-alcoholic industry already, and growing .
