As ‘sober curious’ trend grows, major brands tap into non-alcoholic drinks

Surveys in the U.S. and Canada show consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly cutting back on alcohol consumption.

As interest in non-alcoholic drinks grows, major alcohol brands are making moves with sober versions of well-known products like Guinness and Tanqueray gin.

Experts say it’s a sign there’s still plenty of room for growth in the industry.

“If I was running an alcoholic beverage company … this is not a space that I would ignore,” said Joel Gregoire, associate director for food and drink at market research company Mintel.

Surveys in the U.S. and Canada show consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly cutting back on alcohol consumption. With demand on the rise, the market is expected to keep growing.

While Mintel research shows around 15 per cent of Canadians 20 and older don’t drink at all, there’s another, likely much larger group of consumers that aren’t cutting out alcohol entirely, but cutting back — known as the “sober curious,” said Gregoire.

“When you’re trying to grow your brand with younger consumers, who are the ones who are generally most open to innovation … that’s where there’s a lot of opportunity,” he said.

Companies large and small are seizing on that opportunity. When Sarah Kate founded Some Good Clean Fun, a website covering and promoting non-alcoholic drinks and alcohol-free lifestyle content in April 2021, she said there were very few products on the market for her to drink, let alone write about.

“Since then, it’s just exploded,” she said.