Total sales of non-alcoholic drinks in the U.S. continue to increase each year. In the US, it went up 21% from 2021 to 2022, hitting $395 million. No-alcohol beverage sales are forecasted to increase globally by 25% over the next few years.
[Ads /]
Wallace Dry Goods is a beautiful new bottle shop with a bounty of non-alcoholic choices, everything from beer and wine to spirits and mixers.
"I'd say the beer especially tastes like their alcoholic counterparts, the wine is getting closer and closer to a one for one every day," said Robin Cummiskey.
Cummiskey, the owner of this boozeless beverage boutique, says white wine and sparkly have made the most progress in one for one taste, while red wine is taking a little longer.
RELATED: New zero proof bottle shop Wallace Dry Goods open in Ardmore
She says while you might be a bit disappointed drinking no or low alcohol spirits neat: "They are really excellent mimics of their alcoholic counterpart when you mix them into a cocktail."
[Ads /]
Calorically speaking, no or low alcohol drinks are a win too.
"A lot of the products here just naturally when you remove the alcohol, you're removing a lot of the sugar," she said.
Cummiskey hosts classes and events to educate consumers and professional mixologists and to give people who don't imbibe a place to gather and enjoy an experience where there is no stigma and you can lean into a sober lifestyle.
"We want people to get their hands on these products to be able to learn how to mix them themselves and whether there's alcohol or not some people are intimidated on how to build a cocktail," she said.
And local companies are jumping on board. Mingle Mocktails is from the Main Line and Sundry Mornings out of Linfield offers a Bloody Mary mix as well mixing shrubs.
[Ads /]
"We are also sensitive to the fact that there are people that will come to the store from many different angles, so we have things also that aren't trying to replicate alcohol," said Commiskey.
Some boozeless beverages aren't intended to taste like alcohol and are designed to simply provide unique flavors that often pair well with food.
One note: even though the products are non-alcoholic, you still have to be 21 to shop.
Also, Gen Zers drink an estimated 20% less alcohol than Millennials, but right now in the US, 43% of no or low alcohol consumers are Millennials - by far the largest group.