Sober October 2021

It’s Sober October and a great time to check in on the FADS prediction for the future of alcohol marketing:

“I believe the movement is towards non-alcoholic product, but it will be improved. The products will taste better, and they’ll actually taste like alchohol”

Well, let’s take a look at a few recent 2021 articles in the press:

September 16, 2021: Managing boozy brands in a zero-proof world
“But over the past few years, and especially in 2021, the non-alcoholic beverage sector has evolved, and the owners of liquor brands must evolve their brand management strategies accordingly.”

September 27, 2021: It’s early days for non-alcoholic beer in the US, but brands sense potential
“Maybe you’re in a bar and…you want to remain in that social interaction with your friends, but you don’t want to drink more alcohol because you have to work tomorrow or whatever the reason,” Manso posited. “That’s where the volume is. It’s not in the committed non-drinkers; it’s in normalizing this as a moderation tool.”

October 15 2021: Soft Spirits, L.A.’s first non-alcoholic beverage shop is here—with plenty of adaptogenic drinks in tow
“The last half-decade has seen the rise of the sober-curious movement and a growing willingness to acknowledge alcohol for what it literally is: a habit-forming known carcinogen with no safe level of consumption, per peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet. Despite a growing interest in decreasing alcohol use or quitting altogether, the social rituals and celebrations built around booze live on (yes, that includes at Time Out), and non-drinkers don’t necessarily want to be left out.”

Sure looks like this trend continues to grow. And while this trend is predictably being blamed on the Millennials, we should get ready to start blaming Gen Z, because it seems they aren’t as into drinking as their Boomer grandparents or Gen X parents either.