{"id":16173,"date":"2024-01-31T11:41:08","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T16:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dryatlas.com\/staging\/?p=16173"},"modified":"2024-01-31T12:20:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T17:20:57","slug":"big-alc-goes-non-alc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dryatlas.com\/staging\/articles\/big-alc-goes-non-alc\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Alc Goes Non-Alc"},"content":{"rendered":"

With alcohol sales plateauing, Big Alcohol is increasingly betting on non-alc. Non-alcoholic variants of traditional beers, spirits, and even hard seltzers are on the rise, signaling that the alcohol alternatives category is here to stay. While many applaud Big Alcohol\u2019s foray into non-alc, others raise questions about these companies’ motivations and whether or not they\u2019ll have a positive impact on the space.<\/span><\/p>\n

This trend is most apparent in the beer category. <\/span>Heineken 0.0<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span>, introduced in 2017, now accounts for 7% of all Heineken brand sales in America and is available in over 110 markets globally. <\/span>Guinness 0.0<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> wasn\u2019t far behind; it launched in 2021 and currently represents 10% of all Guinness brand sales in Ireland. More recently, Molson Coors has ramped up its non-alc efforts with offerings like its new Blue Moon Non-Alcoholic, Peroni 0.0., and Coors Edge. \u201cBeer will always be at the heart of what we do, but we know there\u2019s an enormous opportunity with non-alc and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve committed to making it an important part of our business,\u201d says Kevin Nitz, their vice president of non-alcohol products. More recent launches in the beer space include Kingfisher\u2019s <\/span>Kingfisher Zero<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> and Paulaner\u2019s <\/span>Weizen Radler 0.0%<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the spirits domain, <\/span>Damrak Virgin<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> and <\/span>Tanqueray 0.0<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> launched in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Within the past six months, Diageo and Pernod Ricard introduced <\/span>Captain Morgan 0.0%<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> and <\/span>Beefeater Gin 0.0%<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span> to the European market. Diageo spent over two years on formulation, while Pernod Ricard established a state-of-the art production line to serve as a one-stop shop for non-alc spirits production and R&D. Diageo and Pernod Ricard have also made significant investments in the non-alc space in recent years, including brands like <\/span>Seedlip<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span>, <\/span>Ritual<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span>, <\/span>Ceder\u2019s<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span>, and <\/span>Ghia<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span>. Their launches reflect even deeper conviction in the non-alc opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Big Alc is backing their non-alc brands with serious dollars, too. Last summer, Guinness increased the production of its Guinness 0.0 by 300% after a nearly $30 million investment in its production facilities, signaling confidence in the non-alc beer market. Guinness is also investing heavily in marketing, from high profile sports sponsorships to large-scale giveaways (they gave away 50,000 free pints last St. Patrick\u2019s day alone). Heineken just might be edging them out on marketing spend, though. According to the Wall Street Journal, Heineken is allocating a quarter of its global Heineken ad budget into Heineken 0.0. We\u2019re also seeing slick, expensively-produced campaigns, like Diageo\u2019s recent \u201cWhy You Always Why-ing\u201d ad highlighting its Captain Morgan 0.0%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are several motivations for this non-alc expansion:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n