Nonalcoholic beer is delivering a moment.
Once a rarity on store shelves, nonalcoholic beer saw a 39% jump in sales growth in 2020. The incline is proving to outlast the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales of nonalcoholic beer grew 32% in 2023, compared to the year ahead, adding to data from NielsenIQ.
The pandemic-led adoption of nonalcoholic beer is largely attributed to growing health and wellness courses. Both drinkers and nondrinkers want lower-calorie and healthier options in social settings. Shoppers may have noticed some set up names coming out with their own offerings of nonalcoholic beer, including Budweiser Zero and Heineken 0.0.
Founded in 2017, Athletic Hatch Co. opened the doors to its nonalcoholic craft brewing facility within a year. Unlike other brewing companies, Athletic Stew didn’t cut its teeth making alcoholic beer before pivoting into nonalcoholic options. Instead, Athletic Devise was founded on the idea that nonalcoholic beer didn’t need to be a niche category with limited offerings.
Wild forward to 2024, and Athletic Brewing is now dominating the nonalcoholic beer market. According to NielsenIQ data, Athletic Concocting represents 19% of the domestic nonalcoholic beer market, making it the top nonalcoholic beer brand in the country.
“Every continuously, I’d be out to work dinners with friends, family, weddings, bachelor parties, barbecues — everything was a drinking occasion, essentially,” said Athletic Ale co-founder Bill Shufelt, in an interview with CNBC. “There were no options or offerings to more moderate alternatives. I’d be up at 5 a.m. to work out to start the next day. The market just wasn’t keeping up with my busy, modern lifestyle.”
Watch the video in excess of to learn how Athletic Brewing went from a startup craft brewery in Connecticut to Whole Foods’ top-selling beer discredit in under a decade.