Alcohol-Free Bars Open to Meet Rising Demand For Non-Boozy Drinks

Alcohol-free bars serving non-alcoholic beer and cocktails are popping up as global sales surge and a growing number of people explore sobriety. Millie Gooch is one of them. She's been alcohol-free for more than 3 years and founded the Sober Girl Society.

"When I drank, I found the next day I had really bad anxiety that would last kind of 2 to 3 days. And I realized that it was the alcohol in general was having quite a big impact on my mental health. There isn't one part of my life that hasn't been positively impacted by not drinking. So, whether that's my physical health, my mental health, my finances, stronger relationships with my friends and family. I just feel like I enjoy life a lot more."

Global sales of non-alcoholic drinks are surging. Market research firm IWSR says the category is growing ahead of its alcoholic counterparts.

“Last year, even throughout the pandemic, no-alcohol spirits grew to around 30%, whereas globally the spirits market fell about 7%," says IWSR COO Emily Neill. "And equally in beer, you've got no-alcoholic beer in particular, things like Heineken 0.0 growing at double-digit rates, whereas the beer market last year also fell significantly."

Abstinence challenges like Dry January and a growing interest in health and wellness are behind the trend.

“I think this was a trend that existed prior to Covid. And I think that Covid just accelerated it," Bloomberg News’ Tiffany Kary explains. "We've just seen people become more and more aware of what the different effects of foods are on their body, what alcohol does to their body, how they feel the next day.”

Alcohol still far outsells non-alcoholic drinks. But it’s one of the fastest growing categories in the industry.

“The no-alcohol market today across beer, wines and spirits is worth around $6.6 billion U.S, and we're forecasting that to grow to around 11.5 billion U.S. by 2025," says Neill. "You see ever increasing health consciousness among consumers and a desire to moderate drinking, and that's not going to go away. We also see increasing investment from the major spirits and beer producers in particular who see this as a key growth area for them.”

It's not just people who’ve quit drinking entirely who are indulging in a non-alcoholic drink. Non-alcoholic drinks catering for the trend towards moderation.

Chris Marshall, who owns the Sans Bar in Austin, Texas, says a lot of people are just wanting to socialize without having the hangover.

“75% of people that come into Sans Bar on a regular basis do not identify as being sober or being in recovery. A lot of people just want to drink less. A lot of people are just wanting to socialize without having the hangover, without having any alcohol or less alcohol.”

For some it’s about moderation or a healthier lifestyle. But for others like Gooch, it’s a way of life.

“There's nothing about my life that has got worse as a result of not drinking. So, I can't see any reason why I would ever want to go back,” says Gooch.

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