News, trends, and insights shaping the non-alcoholic beverage industry.
Industry
Strategic Beverage Services acquired BevZero’s U.S. operations, creating what the company says is the country’s largest dealcoholization service provider. (prnewswire.com)
Cawston Press acquired 100% of kombucha brand LA Brewery, expanding its non-alcoholic drinks portfolio. (thegrocer.co.uk)
Little Saints was named the fastest-growing beverage company on the 2026 Inc. 5000 and No. 103 overall. (linkedin.com)
Carlsberg’s first-half growth was led by soft drinks and alcohol-free beer, with volumes up 9% and 11% respectively.(wsj.com)
Top beverage sales reps create memorable moments and solve real problems instead of relying on routine account check-ins. (linkedin.com)
The U.S. adult non-alcoholic beverage market has crossed $1 billion, but growth is splitting between scaled mainstream players and emerging brands pursuing increasingly distinct positioning, channels, and consumer occasions. (brewbound.com)
Bero is expanding national retail distribution through Walmart, Kroger, Publix and other chains while building an AI-powered distributor portal and targeting independent stores, bars, and restaurants as its next growth channels. (digitalcommerce360.com)
Crescent Canna’s rapid growth earned the New Orleans beverage company the region’s top position on the Inc. 5000. (bizneworleans.com)
Beverage brands waste consumer marketing dollars when they sample or promote products in places where consumers cannot immediately buy them, making distribution and availability prerequisites for effective awareness spending. (maffeodrinks.substack.com)
THC-infused beverage company Pharos Brands International appointed a former PepsiCo executive as CEO, bringing large-scale beverage industry experience to the emerging cannabis drinks sector. (bevnet.com)
Market-leading consumer brands frequently fail to appear as the top recommendation from AI platforms, creating a new visibility challenge as shoppers increasingly use generative AI for product discovery. (thegrocer.co.uk)
Premium non-alcoholic wine has succeeded at generating consumer trial but still struggles to convert that curiosity into sustained international demand, exposing gaps in positioning, education, distribution, and repeat purchase. (linkedin.com)
How To Start Up Podcast: Mother Root founder Bethan Higson discusses the realities of raising capital, building a non-alcoholic aperitif brand, and successfully pitching entrepreneur Steven Bartlett for investment. (spotify.com)
U.S. of N/A Podcast: How quitting alcohol led this founder from working in non-alcoholic beverage distribution to co-founding a kava beverage company. (usofna.com)
Italian Wine Podcast: Beverage industry expert unpacks what wineries need to succeed in the growing U.S. non-alcoholic wine market. (megaphone.fm)
Marketing Against the Grain Podcast: Liquid Death exec breaks down how distribution, incrementality and full-funnel marketing helped drive the brand’s explosive growth.(spotify.com)
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Health
Brad Pitt’s return to moderate drinking after seven years of sobriety has renewed debate among addiction experts about whether people with a history of problematic alcohol use can reliably return to controlled consumption. (nytimes.com)
Mouse research found that forced alcohol abstinence can produce brain changes associated with later compulsive drinking. (theconversation.com)
Culture
“Zebra striping,” the practice of alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during the same occasion, is becoming a mainstream moderation behavior as consumers seek more control without abandoning social drinking. (thedrinksbusiness.com)
Americans’ relationship with alcohol continues to shift as surveys show changing drinking participation and attitudes, and moving more toward deliberate drinking. (nytimes.com)
Improving production techniques and a new generation of premium producers are making non-alcoholic wine increasingly credible to serious wine drinkers rather than simply a substitute for people avoiding alcohol. (robbreport.com)
Soft Bar is continuing to evolve as the business works to turn rising interest in sober and sober-curious socializing into a durable brick-and-mortar model. (bravotv.com)
Non-Non-Alc
America’s growing embrace of aperitivo culture is creating an early-evening drinking occasion centered on lower-intensity, slower consumption rather than traditional happy-hour excess, with Aperol and spirit aperitifs benefiting. (proofpoints.substack.com)
Nearly half of consumers now use AI for business recommendations while more than one-quarter of companies may be effectively invisible in chatbot results. (fastcompany.com)
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