A premium product that maps to no existing shelf set faces a specific risk in retail: the buyer meets it with skepticism, and no one is standing there to resolve it. Cul Sec, a Dutch wine alternative entering the U.S.

Many beverage founders treat a Whole Foods buyer meeting as the finish line. The reality is the opposite: the meeting is roughly the midpoint of a process that can run three to five years from first contact, and the common

In most mature beverage categories, distribution is primarily a logistics function. Product moves from producer to shelf, and the category’s identity is already clear to the retailer and the consumer. Non-alc doesn’t operate that way. The category lacks consistent placement

Last month, Copenhagen saw the launch of Alexandra Hus, a mega-bar built on the premise that socializing is an alcohol-optional activity. EVE World, the hospitality collective behind the bar, designed its “triple-format” beverage program, where every drink on the menu

For years, the beverage industry has largely interpreted moderation as substitution. Consumers drink fewer units of alcohol, so they replace cocktails, wine, and beer with non-alcoholic equivalents. But a different model of moderation is gaining traction, particularly in restaurants and

The THC beverage category has been constrained less by demand than by distribution. Early growth came via fragmented channels: direct-to-retail relationships and opportunistic partnerships. That model allowed brands to enter the market quickly, but it also limited scale. Execution varied