Non-alcoholic (NA) beer, wine and spirits continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments on the e-commerce beverage platform Drizly.
More than 90% of Drizly’s retail partners now carry at least one NA option, with NA beer leading the segment in sales, growing 200% year-over-year (YOY), according to Drizly’s July sales report.
Heineken and Athletic Brewing Company lead in sales among all NA brands year-to-date (YTD), which include NA wine and spirits sales. Lagunitas (No. 7) and Brooklyn Brewery (No. 8) have also gained ground in the segment.
Similarly, Heineken 0.0, Athletic Brewing Run Wild IPA, and Lagunitas IPNA are the top-selling non-alc beer brands so far this year on Drizly, followed by (in order): Clausthaler Original, Brooklyn Special Effects Hoppy Amber, Budweiser Zero, Athletic Brewing Free Wave Hazy IPA, Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Alkoholfrei, Coors NA Beer, and O’Doul’s Amber.
“Consumers now have far more choice in high-quality products that taste like traditional beer, wine, and spirits — just without the alcohol,” Drizly’s head of consumer insights Liz Paquette said in the report, crediting new craft entrants into the NA space for the category’s growing popularity. “Product innovation, both from existing players as well as new brands entering the market is also helping to drive the category.”
NA beer makes up 7% of total beer share on the Drizly platform. Compare that to the 0.52% share the segment holds of overall beer category sales in off-premise channels as of mid-June, according to market research firm IRI. Year-to-date through June 13, off-premise dollar sales of NA beer are up 28.3%, to more than $102.2 million, the firm reported.
On Drizly, the segment over-indexes in some of the platform’s top markets, including New York City, Boston, Denver, and Los Angeles.
Younger consumers are driving NA sales, with Generation Z reaching for NA drinks more than previous generations, according to Drizly’s 2021 Consumer Report.
Athletic co-founder Bill Shufelt shared similar insights in a recent interview with PYMNTS.com, noting that 80% of Athletic’s consumers are younger than 44.
“Younger generations are drinking less alcohol in general,” Samantha Itzkovitz, Brooklyn Brewery’s VP of marketing, said in Drizly’s latest report. “A lot of that comes from the desire to just get out there and be able to experience things without having the hindrance of alcohol or over-consumption, not to mention the even bigger macro trend of health and wellness. People are way more mindful of what they are putting in their bodies right now.”
Of the 1,000 Americans of legal drinking age surveyed, 40% of Drizly respondents said they consider lower ABV, while 39% factor in perceived healthiness when considering a product. When asked what is the most important factor when deciding to purchase a product, 12% said added health benefits matter most and 11% cited low- or no-alcohol content as driving their purchase.