ALCOHOL aisles are a portal to a different, more vibrant world. It’s a fashion show of bottles; a fun competition for the attention of a lonesome shopper.
How can one choose from this ergonomic buffet of colour? Deciding is harder than ever – and not only because alcohol is more glamorous, but because on the opposite shelf poses its new, attractive nemesis: the alcohol-free. This wasn’t always the case, however.
A few years ago, when Lewis Kennedy, 26, was at university, he would struggle to find a non-alcoholic alternative to whisky. This gap in the market and his background in product and design drove him to create his own after graduating in 2020. He called his Edinburgh-based, alcohol-free replica of a dark spirit Talonmore.
At the start, Kennedy admits they had to work hard to sell their non-alcoholic alternative, but that has since changed.
“Scottish people are drinking less and the demand for non-alcoholic drinks is booming. It’s never been bigger, and people are reaching out to us, asking if Talonmore can be on the menu.”
Laura Willoughby, a co-founder of Club Soda, an organisation which works closely with the hospitality industry to get more non-alcoholic drinks onto their menus, notes that the rise in moderating behaviour isn’t limited to Scotland, or even the UK.
“Mindful drinking is a global phenomenon. There’s a move towards looking for other ways to socialise and alcohol not being at the centre of every occasion,” she says.
Almost a fifth of the UK cut down on alcohol in 2017, which was around 650,000 people in Scotland. While Willoughby thinks that Scotland is becoming more sober curious, she also considers that “those who do drink, tend to drink more”.
Alcohol-related deaths have risen in Scotland in recent years; the country holds the highest alcohol-specific death rate in the UK. However, hazardous drinking has been declining since 2003 and the Covid-19 pandemic set the record for the lowest level of alcohol sold on- and off-trade since 1994.
Although this could be attributed to lockdown restrictions, Willoughby believes “the pandemic also made everyone more health-conscious”.
“Some people scared themselves by how much they drank, but [mindful drinking] is a trend that started long before. The pandemic just slightly accelerated it.”
Since the pandemic, Kennedy noticed a change in how his peers talk about alcohol. “Nobody is bragging about how many pints they had, whereas in the past that used to be the kind of thing you discussed.
“I think society is maturing, and realising that hurting and poisoning yourself with alcohol is still a fun thing to do sometimes, but overdoing it is no longer the end goal.”
He attributes this change in behaviour to social media and the growth of influencers.
“In the past, I don’t think influencers have ever promoted going out and getting smashed.
“They promoted a perfect, healthy lifestyle, whereas if you’re a millennial, the people you were influenced by were work colleagues, family, [the] people you live beside, and the thing to do was to go out and get drunk.”
He cites this as a reason why older generations may struggle to give up alcohol. The other reason is taste, but with the innovation being put into alcohol-free drinks, Kennedy doesn’t see “taste” as a reasonable excuse to continue drinking alcohol anymore.
“There’s a lovely experience in non-alcoholic drinks. Rather than just grabbing a can of soda, popping the cap and drinking with a straw, you’re able to have that sophisticated socialising that you would have with alcohol – only you don’t have to worry about how it’s going to make you feel terrible tomorrow.”
Despite younger people not drinking as much and there being a rise in moderating behaviour, Willoughby is aware that “alcohol [still] sticks firmly in public health in the UK”. “Alcohol is very much woven into the fabric of our society. The Chinese made tea to clean their water, we made beer. There are centuries of cultural hardwiring to deal with.”
Still, Willoughby hopes that there will be a cultural shift which doesn’t place alcohol at the heart of everything that we do.
“For a lot of people, alcohol is only a temporary high and the low is a lot longer and more difficult, which is why mental health will continue to be a massive driver [for moderation].
“My generation was taught to deal with anxiety by drinking, whereas the younger generation has known for a while that drinking causes anxiety, and they would rather not drink for the high of feeling more mentally stable.”
While the non-alcoholic drinks industry has matured in the last few years, it’s still very new – Willoughby describes the market’s evolution as “only being five past the hour”.
Despite its slower progression, alcohol must learn to co-exist with its uncomplicated equivalent. Alcohol-free is here to stay.
