Non-alcoholic adult beverages will soon be a $1 billion segment, seeing double-digit growth each year driven by those consumers looking for alternatives to alcohol but who still want to feel like they are included in the party, according to NielsenIQ's Kaleigh Theriault, who spoke at ECRM's On & Off Premise Adult Beverage Session.

NA beer is still the largest category, with several established brands, but many new brands are doing a great job of replicating the full flavor experience. NA wines and spirits are also following suit. 

NA adult beverage are here to stay

According to NIQ, sales of NA adult beverages peak in January -- no surprise as many consumers do Dry January following their end-of-year imbibing, but there are also peaks around major holidays, too, such as 4th of July and Thanksgiving. 

Interestingly, 93 percent of consumers who purchase NA drinks also consume alcoholic beverages, a clear indication that the segment is an additional option to moderate consumption, as Kaleigh pointed out in her previous video interview (see link in comments). 

Moderation is driving NA sales

On premise guests are increasingly switching back and forth between alcoholic and NA adult beverages as well, likely to taper off at the end of the evening. This is both good for the consumer (just ask Justin Timberlake ??) but also good for the operator as well, as these are typically high-margin drinks. 

While NIQ expects NA sales to pass $1 billion within a couple of years, that is in in the Beverage Alcohol channels they track. If you consider the fact that these NA brands can also sell outside of the three-tier system via DTC and Amazon, it's likely that it will hit this number sooner taking these channels into account. Download Kaleigh's presentation slide deck here: NIQ BevAl - ECRM - September 2024.pdf

Next year's On & Off Premise Adult Beverage Session will be held August 24-26, 2025. Click here to register!