PARIS — Marketing gurus know that, no matter the year or the product, it's young people who point us to where we're going. And apparently, staying sober is where we're going.
By all accounts, Gen Z is drinking less than previous generations. A NIQ Generational Consumer Study on Gen Z last year in seven European countries found that 47% of those 21 years or older said they’d never had an alcoholic drink, compared with 36% of the previous generation of Millennials.
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The new tendency to drink less or not at all can be explained in part by the post-pandemic effects, with both rising awareness of physical and emotional well-being after COVID-19, and less experience of young people in social drinking because of COVID-19 lockdowns. Researchers are also finding that Gen Z has a higher propensity to question everything that previous generations used to accept, and that may include alcohol consumption.
But whatever the reason, this “sober curious” youth movement is pushing beverage brands and marketers, as well as public officials, to expand the low or no-alcohol offerings. There is an online group, the Sober Grid app, that supports this movement and has been encouraging youths to improve lifestyle and habits.
Online it is possible to find up to 100 alcohol-free cocktails recipes together with various brands promoting non-alcoholic beers, wines and even spirits. And even while certain countries continue to battle stubbornly high rates of youth alcoholism, the sober movement is spreading all around the world.
France says bonjour to alcohol-free wine
During the Wine Paris & Vinexpo hosted in the French capital at the beginning of February, there were masterclasses and stands to introduce the "No-low" wines (short for non-alcoholic and low-alcohol). France is considered the country with the greatest influence on wine culture: Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, Champagne, just to name a few, and now Opia, Chavin's NA wine too.
Chavin was founded in 2010 by Mathilde Boulachine and now counts nine different no-alcohol wine collections. Often target of jokes and accused of being an oxymoron, the winemaker now boasts about pioneering the 2024 trend. Above 0.5 grad and on condition that the product is not flavored to compensate for the loss of organoleptic properties, the NA wines are on the European market since 2022.
The More Sober Generation
Italy pairs cocktails with traditional dishes
Italy, known for its rich wine culture and tradition, has started to embrace the trend of no-low wines, albeit with some skepticism. While traditional wine remains deeply ingrained in Italian culture, there has been growing interest in alternatives that cater to changing consumer preferences.
Mocktails have been around for a while now, mainly made from fruit juices. As demand for non-alcoholic drinks grows, so does the search for more refined tastes, which led to develop spirits that resemble the taste of the most famous alcoholic beverages.
With these new entries, the fad of cocktail pairing has run rampant: the combination of food and cocktails makes a great... mix! For instance, a cocktail made with de-alcoholized whisky, cypress and mushroom water is made to be sipped with ragù tortellini.
Germany weighs no-alcohol Oktoberfest
Alcohol-free beer was first invented in the late 1800s, making it the first of its kind. It was first launched in Germany, from the beer factory Clausthaler and it later conquered Europe too. New methods to remove alcohol have been created over the years to maintain much of the taste, and by the 2000s the beverage had found an entirely new public.
The world's most valuable no/low-alcohol market remains Germany. Since it has been around for quite some time now, this type of beer can count on many different flavors and percentage of alcohol, refined over decades.
The country of Oktoberfest is thus one of the leaders of the Sober Revolution. That makes it is easier to find multiple choices on the market of no/lows because of the demand and the prices that have recently dropped, despite the crisis.
Thailand sets up to calendar the No Booze Days
No Booze Days are truly something in Thailand. Alcohol is strictly forbidden during these days and no store, restaurant, nor bar sells it, at least not legally.
Makha Bucha Day, this year was on February 24, and is a religious festivity, the second most important Buddhist festival, therefore all forms of alcoholic beverages are prohibited by law. Same thing applies to Visakha Bucha Day, that commemorates significant events in Buddha’s life and Asarnha Bucha Day, celebrating Buddha’s first sermon.
Yet outside the Buddhist traditions, Thailand is witnessing a rising interest in the no/low-alcoholic beverages, expanding the market that has then made adjustments so that it could offer multiple choices. The Sober Revolution makes its way by implementing traditional Thai flavors to create colorful mocktails, to suit everyone's taste, without having to give up on an elaborate, complex, aromatic and above all good drink.
Indian alcohol-free entry wins best cocktail award
The modern restaurant Pandan Club has recently won an award at 30BestBarsIndia, bringing home the Best Non-Alcoholic Cocktail Menu award.
With the ongoing increase in numbers of people taking their distance from alcohol, the restaurant world needs to keep up. Manoj Padmanaban, co-founder and owner of the Pandan Club, said that clients are specifically asking for more and more alcohol-free beverages to go with the dishes, which gave him the idea to create an entire menu out of it.
He also states that the no/lows need to be addressed as drinks themselves, rather than just mocktails, and that the soft drink culture is a benefit not just for the health but also for avoiding the guilty you feel when you have drinks on week days. It also gives the opportunity to kids to taste something different every now and then.
Dubai's delicious zero-alcohol martinis
Since Islam prohibits alcohol consumption, many countries in the Middle East have legal restrictions. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, allows the sale of alcohol, with certain regulations. But none of that is of concern to those distributing the growing number of no-alcohol fruity cocktails, beer and wine. Moreover, the market now offers whisky and gin no/low-alcoholic too. A sampling of the zero-alcohol passion fruit martini at La Maison Ani in Dubai.
Karl Fielding, Lyre's vice president for the Middle East, stated that the revolution is not out there to trace a line between drinkers and non-drinkers, but for the exact opposite reason: to give both a fun and tasty way of enjoying drinks together.
Again, pairing cocktails and liquors together with dishes is not-so-slowly approaching to a tasty point of no return. Across the Emirates new alcohol-free labels have started to gain some popularity, allowing people to take part in social and professional gatherings without the fear of feeling indisposed the next day or, indeed, driving back home the same evening.
Generally speaking, the Sober Revolution is linked with the after-Covid wellness movement - veganism, minimalism, thrifting and so on - that is still occupying our main communication channels. In the Middle East above all, the striving for moderation is associated to the mindful drinkers that are starting to not feel guilty about their life choices anymore.