Newcomers in non-alc spirits are climbing up the list of Drizly’s top-selling SKUs, illustrating how brands are continuing to find innovative ways to replace drinking occasions.
A report from the platform’s BevAlc Insights shares which zero-proof spirits, beer and wine are leading the pack, and who is shopping for them. Here are the four key takeaways, with additional insights from recent data.
Tiny Share, Major Growth
Non-alc beer, wine and spirits grew 62% in 2023 over 2022 on Drizly, making it one of the marketplace’s fastest growing categories. There are now more than 100 non-alc
brands available on the platform, a 70% uptick from 2021. But non-alc still represents less than 1% of total share on the platform.
That tiny percentage makes sense, as non-alc products are available beyond the liquor outlets that Drizly pulls from. But the report signaled that brands and retailers should remember one key fact about non-alc consumption: 94% of alcoholic beverage consumers also purchase non-alc alternatives, according to off-premise data collected by Nielsen IQ.
Non-alc sales for the 52-week period ending August 23 reached $510 million, up $121.2 million from the 52 weeks prior, and traditional alcohol retail channels account for over 30% of those sales.
Sales Concentrated in Major Cities, Regional Presence
Major metropolitan areas lead non-alc sales on Drizly: top markets that over-index include Boston, Denver, northern New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Washington, D.C. Nielsen data also indicates that five states – California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Michigan, and Ohio – make up over 30% of NA beverage sales.
That mix of states may indicate the regionality of non-alc brands— companies like Wilderton have anchored themselves in the Pacific Northwest, for example. It also means that geographic expansion could look a little different for non-alc brands than their full-poof counterparts.
Gen Z Leads The Way
The report echoed data showing that Gen Z and millennial consumers are propelling the non-alc trend-forward, building on a combination of overall wellness trends and consumers reevaluating their drinking habits during the pandemic.
Non-alc beer, wine and spirits are also providing an entry point into BevAlc for the youngest drinking-age generation, according to data from NIQ presented at Brewbound Live. Gen Z dollars spent on non-alc products versus last year rose by 29%, compared to much smaller growth for millennials (+2%), boomers (+1.9%), and Gen X (-2.1%).
Who’s Winning?
Non-alcoholic beer remains the largest subcategory within non-alc options on the platform, up 35% in 2023, while non-alc wine and spirits also experienced huge leaps, expanding by 83% and 167% year-over-year, respectively.
On the beer side, SKUs from dedicated craft brand Athletic Brewing make up four of the 10 highest selling beers including three of the top spots following Heineken Non-Alcoholic 0.0. The remaining top brands are all produced by major breweries including Budweiser and Corona. Expect leading alcohol companies to continue getting in on the trend: Nielsen data indicates that over half of new non-alc releases in 2023 were line extensions of existing alcohol brands.
But the makeup looks much different for spirits, which is dominated by SKUs from pioneer Seedlip and Ritual Zero Proof. There’s room now for more products that focus more on replicating the alcohol occasion or the effects through different stimulants rather than flavor. St. Agrestis, an amaro brand based in Brooklyn, now sits in the number two spot with its Phony Negroni cocktail, illustrating how shelf space is now being carved out for mocktails. The sixth highest selling product, Kin Euphorics’ Lightwave, is an example of a wellness-centric brand, offering ingredients like adaptogens to shift drinkers’ moods.