Boozeless beverages becoming big business this holiday season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The holidays are filled with festive celebrations of food and drink, and often that drink contains alcohol.

But that’s changing for many people, as the holidays become drier and people turn to boozeless beverages.

Not so long ago, those wanting to celebrate without imbibing were limited to water, soft drinks, or N/A beer with little taste.

There are more choices in non-alcoholic drinks than ever—from what you buy in the store to what you drink during a night on the town.

Bar none

Wild Child, in Shawnee, is just one business going the extra mile to make pretty, festive, zero-alcohol drinks.

Owner Jay Sanders showed off one of their specialty drinks called “Bearing Fruits.”

“You can have a lot them and still drive home,” said Sanders.

The idea for a bar specializing in “mocktails” was born out of the pandemic when Sanders and his partners noticed a change in consumption.

“We were isolated away from each other,” said Sanders. “Now we’re putting more value on the social part of the social experience rather than the need for alcohol.”

They bought all the equipment to make their own non-alcoholic spirits.

“Rather than distilling mash into a spirit, or age it into whiskey, what we’re doing is tripping the alcohol from that.” Said Sanders.

While the mocktails are extremely popular, Wild Child also offers alcoholic drinks and food.

Boozeless Boulevard

The brewers at Boulevard also noticed the changing drinking habits.

“This trend started back in 2020, and we’ve seen the percentage of non-alcoholic category continue to rise year over year,” said Adam Hall, brand manager for Boulevard.

Between August 2021 and August 2022, total dollar sales of non-alcoholic drinks in the U.S. stood at $395 million—showing a year-on-year growth of more than 20 percent.

Boulevard decided to dip its toes into the N/A market with Flying Start. Hall says sales of the beer took off and haven’t come down since.

And now Boulevard is further tapping into the trend by rolling out another N/A beer, Lemon Wheat, and an N/A version of quirk—a popular hard seltzer.

Both products are expected to hit stores in January.

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