As alcohol sales drop across Canada, local producers and retailers of non-alcoholic beverage alternatives are getting a boost.
During the pandemic, many Canadians re-evaluated their relationship with drinking, with roughly 22 per cent reducing their overall consumption, according to Statistics Canada.
In a report last year, the agency said alcohol sales have taken a hit as a result. While Canadians were spending more money on alcohol, it said sales volumes dropped 1.2 per cent between April 2021 and March 2022. It was the first decline since the 2013-14 fiscal year and the largest drop by volume in over a decade.
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There was another notable drop in May and June of last year, with sales down 2.8 per cent compared to the previous year, the data showed.
At the same time, many Canadians are turning to non-alcoholic alternatives, which has been a boon for some Ottawa businesses.
In 2021, Perth Brewery launched its first non-alcoholic beer to great success, according to marketing lead Cait Wind.
“It was rooted in some personal changes in the consumption habits of the owners, which sparked this realization that it is really hard to find non-alcoholic offerings,” Wind told OBJ. “As people who love beer, the idea of cutting it out wasn’t what we wanted. We knew we had the tools and the skills to make something good.”
Nearly three years later, the non-alcoholic lager Play is the brewery’s third best-selling beverage out of more than 20 varieties.
“It’s been huge for us and it really let us know that people who were reaching for us wanted more non-alcoholic offerings,” she said. “So we just released our second non-alcoholic offering last week, which is an IPA that we’re really excited about.”
Wind said the brewery hears a variety of explanations from customers as to why they started picking up non-alcoholic alternatives.
“Obviously I think a huge one is the economy; people are having to make different decisions about their money coming out of the pandemic,” she said. “Also, a lot of people have become much more aware of their health and consumption habits. A lot of our customers are retirement age. Maybe they’re taking new medications and they have to watch their alcohol consumption.”
But it isn’t just older people changing their habits. Young people are drinking less as well. A 2020 report from Berenberg Research found that gen Z are drinking 20 per cent less than millennials, who in turn are drinking less than gen X and baby boomers.
Benson Mutalemwa – whose Bank Street shop Knyota Drinks sells non-alcoholic alternatives for spirits, beers, wines and more – said his customers are often looking for a lifestyle change.
“It can be as simple as getting older and wine doesn’t sit well with you anymore,” he said. “Or if you go to networking events throughout the week and drink at every single one, your alcohol intake might be too high.”
According to Mutalemwa, people who struggle with addiction or alcoholism are not his typical demographic.
“People who stop drinking for sobriety reasons are not the predominant customer at a place like this, especially early in the sobriety journey,” he said. “Early on, certain drinks may be triggers. You might find that customer after a while, well into their journey, when they know their triggers and how to manage them.”
Dry January renews interest in non-alcoholic alternatives
Mutalemwa said his shop saw an uptick in activity in December and expects that to continue as Canadians challenge themselves to cut out drinking for Dry January.
“We tend to see new customers in Dry January,” he said. “The holidays are great for us because customers tend to be entertaining and they’re buying gifts. Then in January we see that customer return. Then we get customers who say they walked by the shop before and this is the first time they’re coming in. It’s good for businesses that way, to see a lot of new faces.”
The interest in alternatives has also been positive for a company like Split Tree Cocktail Co., which produces natural cocktail and soda mixers that can be used to make both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
“There’s been a demand for non-alcoholic options and I think it’s based on people looking for something a little more sophisticated than a Mountain Dew or Coke,” said founder Steve Morrier.
Split Tree, which opened a storefront on Richmond Road in 2022, also offers cocktail-making classes, where conversations about mocktails are coming up more often among customers.
“We do a mocktail class in January and it sold out months ago,” he said. “I’m certainly seeing a lot more requests and demand for it. I’m still selling out my alcohol-related cocktail classes as well, but there are significantly more requests (during those classes) asking about mocktail substitutes.”
According to Morrier, the market is flush with options, as more companies jump on the bandwagon.
But not all non-alcoholic beverages are created equal. Morrier said an alternative can cost as much as the alcoholic version and quality can vary, especially among the cheapest options.
“It’s difficult to replace whiskey or spiced rum or scotch. The products that are trying to replace a gin or any botanical-like aperitivo, they do a much better job. And they can be really expensive. At the end of the day, you’re charging for a bottle of flavoured water, so it better hold up for mixing mocktails,” he said.
“(The industry) can see the shift and they see the opportunity. It’s amazing how quickly it happened.”
