A celebrity can get a drink into someone’s hand remarkably quickly. A familiar face creates curiosity, generates coverage and gives a new brand an advantage most founders would struggle to buy. The more interesting commercial question comes later, when the novelty has faded and someone has to decide whether they actually want to drink it again.
Tom Holland’s non alcoholic brand BERO offers an interesting example. Holland’s own decision to stop drinking gives the brand a credible personal story, but it was the development of its shandy range that caught my attention. Zendaya, who has never been much of a drinker, reportedly did not particularly enjoy the original beers. A suggestion from Holland’s mother eventually led to lighter, fruit led shandies, including a grapefruit flavour connected to Zendaya’s own preference.
There is a much bigger consumer insight in that small domestic story.
Not drinking alcohol tells us what somebody does not want. It tells us remarkably little about what they do.
The non alcoholic category has understandably spent much of its development trying to recreate familiar alcoholic experiences. If you love beer but no longer want the alcohol, a beautifully made alcohol free beer makes perfect sense. The bitterness, malt, carbonation and ritual are all experiences you may want to retain.
But what about the person who never liked beer?
As the non alcoholic market expands, the consumer within it is becoming increasingly difficult to define by alcohol consumption alone. It includes people who have stopped drinking, people who moderate, people who drink occasionally, people who never particularly enjoyed alcohol and people who simply prefer not to drink on a particular evening. They may share a decision about alcohol, but there is no reason to assume they share a palate.
For product developers, that changes the brief.
Rather than beginning with what has been removed, there is an opportunity to begin with sensory preference. Some people love bitterness and dryness. Others want acidity, fruit or florals. Some enjoy spice and complexity, while others want something light, cold and refreshing. Carbonation, aroma, sweetness, texture and finish all influence whether a drink feels satisfying, and the desired balance changes again depending on whether it is being consumed before dinner, with food, at a bar or on a Tuesday evening at home.
This is where I think the next stage of non alcoholic drinks becomes much more interesting. We have become technically better at removing or avoiding alcohol. Now we need to become better at understanding what people actually want in its place.
That does not necessarily mean recreating alcohol more accurately.
Alcohol performs considerable sensory work in a drink, contributing aroma, warmth, body and length. Without it, balance has to be created differently. Too much sweetness can make a drink tiring over a full serve; too much bitterness can feel like sophistication has been engineered into the glass. Neither necessarily creates satisfaction.
And satisfaction matters because trial and repeat purchase are two very different achievements.
A celebrity name can influence the first. Packaging can help. A compelling founder story can make a particular flavour memorable. But once the drink is open, the consumer starts making their own assessment. Does it taste as good as they expected? Is there enough complexity to keep drinking it? Does it work with food? Does the final sip still taste as good as the first? Would they pay for it again?
This is the point at which sensory experience becomes commercial strategy.
BERO’s story also illustrates something else celebrity brands eventually have to achieve. Holland may give the consumer their first association with the product, but lasting brands gradually acquire associations that belong to the customer instead. It becomes the drink they order before dinner, the one a friend introduced them to or the one that always appears in the fridge on Friday evening.
The founder gets you into the story. A good product eventually allows you to make it your own.
For hospitality and drinks development, there is a useful lesson here too. Offering a non alcoholic option is not necessarily the same thing as offering meaningful choice. A list containing alcohol free beer, wine and gin may be excellent for consumers who enjoy those flavour profiles. It does much less for somebody whose preference lies elsewhere.
We have spent a great deal of time asking people whether they drink alcohol. The more useful question for the next stage of this category may simply be what they like to drink.
Because celebrity can create attention and a good story can earn the first sip. What earns the second is much less glamorous, and much more important: flavour, balance, sensory satisfaction and a drink good enough to become part of someone else’s life.
Aisling Larkin