Dry January: How One Month Became a Movement

cannabis beverage — AMASS: Distilled and bottled in British Columbia, Riverine is the alcohol-free botanical beverage from AMASS.

*Courtesy of AMASS*

Mingle Mocktails: Mingle Mocktails as a refreshing alternative for those who want to feel part of the party instead of being the talk of the party.

*Courtesy of Mingle Mocktails*

NA Variety Pack — Brooklyn Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery's non-alcoholic portfolio includes newcomers Special Effects pils and Special Effects Hazy IPA.

*Courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery*

NC beer — Aurora Superior Sparkling Beverages: Aurora Hops, a line of non-alcoholic sparkling beverages infused with Pacific Northwest-grown hops.

Courtesy of Aurora Superior Sparkling Beverages

free hard spirits — The Free Spirits Company: Free Spirits evokes the “spirit” of bourbon, tequila and gin without the ghastly hangover.

*Courtesy of The Free Spirits Company*

Kin Euphorics: Kin Euphorics is a non-alcoholic beverage that promises to “ease stress, mellow the mood, and balance the effects of stress on the body.”

*Courtesy of Kin Eurphorics*

Wellness-focused, “sober-curious” consumers are driving interest in booze-free cocktails, a relative newcomer to the $180 billion beverage industry.

There’s no question that COVID drove us to consume more alcohol. It took a year to realize we can’t drink our way through a pandemic. 2021 was the year of wellness and the rise of the non-alcoholic spirit category. According to Nielsen data, the no- and low-ABV sector has grown 506% since 2015, and annual growth for the category is expected to hit 7.1% by 2025. By category, NA beer and cider grew 31.7%, wine increased 39.4% while zero-ABV spirits saw sales grow 113.4% over the last year.

The products have done especially well in e-commerce, as Nielsen found a 315% increase in online non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beverage dollar sales in the same time. However, the demand has led to a retail first: stores devoted to non-alcoholic spirits. One is Sipple, the first non-alcoholic bottle shop in Texas that opened in October 2021. New York City’s first booze-free bottle shop, Spirted Away, opened on the city’s lower east side in November 2020. By early 2021, Boisson opened in Brooklyn, sharing the same dedication to exclusively alcohol-free beverages.

ON DEMAND: With the assistance of the Frito-Lay R&D team, Bryce produced a fully industrial compostable, BPI certified flexible packaging structure for five different Frito-Lay products for the Coachella Music Festival in 2023.

ON DEMAND: Three words on everyone’s lips across the packaging industry these days are “Extended Producer Responsibility,” known as EPR. This panel will feature various perspectives from suppliers, converters and industry and offer individual snapshots of the challenges and potential solutions.