Summer is upon us, and it’s a season often best enjoyed with something cold to sip. Increasingly however, many of us would prefer to do so while also keeping our faculties intact.
Beverage sales data backs up this notion. Last year, global sales of nonalcoholic beer rose 9% by volume, per trade group IWSR. In 2025, the group predicts the zero-proof drinks will surpass ale to become the second-largest beer category.
It’s not just beer. Cruise store shelves dedicated to beer, wine and liquor these days, and you’ll also likely see a selection of alcohol-free options. Bars tempt us with trendy mocktail menus. You can even arrange a nonalcoholic tasting tour of Napa Valley wine country.
Startups have played a big part in the sector’s growth. Over the past few years, investors have poured hundreds of millions into promising upstarts batch-producing nonalcoholic craft beer, mixed drinks, spirits and wines, Crunchbase data shows.
To illustrate, we put together a list of 21 global companies funded in roughly the past couple years.
Crazy big market
The best-known brand among funded startups is Athletic Brewing, whose craft beers are now widely available at stores, bars and restaurants across the U.S. At Whole Foods, the brand’s lineup of alcohol-free IPAs, dark beers and reduced-calorie options is reportedly so popular that it outsells regular beer.
The Milford, Connecticut-based company is also a VC favorite, having raised close to $250 million in equity funding, with General Atlantic and Keurig Dr Pepper among its chief backers. A year ago, the business was reportedly valued at $800 million.
While one might associate nonalcoholic beer, wine and cocktails with the sober living scene, market research indicates this isn’t necessarily the core user base. Rather, consumers who drink sometimes are also rotating in nonalcoholic options for use cases like avoiding hangovers, staying awake or remaining sober enough to drive home.
Taste is also a big driver. While nonalcoholic beers and cocktails were once associated with pale imitations of the real thing, today’s offerings compare much more favorably. With products often priced similarly to alcoholic beverages, upstarts are also big on promoting the use of premium ingredients and small-batch craftsmanship.
That’s the marketing tactic at play for Lyre’s Spirit Co, a nonalcoholic spirits and prepared cocktail brand that’s raised at least $68 million in equity funding to date. It touts a globally sourced collection of natural essences, extracts and distillates used to create spirits that rival the real thing. At $38 for a bottle of gin, it’s priced like the real thing, too.
In the wine space, meanwhile, Paris-based French Bloom is pitching sparkling wines made from dealcoholized chardonnay and pinot noir with similar panache. Co-founded by a former Michelin Guide director and a supermodel, the company markets itself for festive events.
Everybody at the bar staying sober
Following a year of Shaboozey topping the charts with a song about “everybody at the bar getting tipsy,” it might seem incongruous to see zero-proof mocktails having their moment too. But perhaps there’s a connection.
After all, a lot of what makes a beer, cocktail or shot great isn’t the alcohol but rather the experience around it. Think barbecues and beer, or slushy concoctions under an umbrella by the pool. Even zero-proof, it still holds its appeal.
Moreover, while that party downtown near 5th street might sound like a blast, many of us still have to wake up and go to work the next day.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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