Welcome back to the BevNET spirits newsletter. This week we talked to adult non-alc pioneers about why selling “more moderation” is as complicated as it sounds – and what to do about it. 

What insiders are reading: Jefferies analysts echo that money woes, more than wellness goals, are making people pull back from drinking and Texas loosens up with a new hemp order. 

Thanks for reading.

-BevNET spirits editor, Ferron Salniker

Selling “more moderation” is as tricky as it sounds according to the founders of Bar Nuda, a Mexican-inspired drinks pop-up and Los Angeles’s first completely adult non-alc (ANA) experience.  

While working in restaurants across Los Angeles, founders Morris Ellis and Pablo Murillo saw a need for an ANA space that offered the same hospitality and craft as any other bar. They launched Bar Nuda in 2023, infusing their Mexican heritage into the project with the help of Bryant Orozco, a writer and bar consultant, who designed a cocktail menu grounded in Mexican ingredients and herbalism. A culturally-driven ANA concept is still unique more than two years later. 

The concept has succeeded at threading together LA’s Latino and wellness cultures: as Bar Nuda has popped up around town, the drinks and the experiences around them – from yoga to zero-proof salsa nights to benefit concerts for immigrant rights groups – are focused on culture and community, and are in demand.

Just off a summer stint transforming a Venice Beach cafe into a NA cocktail oasis in the evenings, the founders have learned that selling “more moderation” doesn’t work – people don’t overindulge on NA cocktails like they do bar shots. So success becomes contingent on activating a space in so many other ways that the business model looks more like a restaurant or entertainment venue. As ANA mainstreams, other ANA-only spaces have learned similar lessons.

It’s one of the inherent problems with NA cocktails anywhere – in my chats with top bar directors across the U.S., it’s clear that “it takes something special to get people to do more than one NA cocktail.” Even if you’re to add some kind of buzz, consumers and bartenders will need to understand what the dosage effect is. That’s why THC beverage brands like Goodmellow are looking to get a 2.5 mg can into on-prem with the idea that its sessionability is beer-like.

Bar Nuda will now channel their brand equity into CPG, while keeping events going. The hope is that a NA Mexican craft beer made in Los Angeles will provide a more authentic, culturally driven option for on-premise and consumers than the major brands and independent NA beers. You can read more on the site. 

Have thoughts on how to sell more ANA on-premise? Hit me up.

Sazerac and Coca Cola’s bev-alc subsidiary are embarking on a new partnership. Fresca Mixed, a ready-to-drink (RTD) line launched by The Coca-Cola Company and Constellation Brands, as well as Minute Maid Spiked, are moving to Sazerac. Why the move? Sazerac has made waves in the RTD business after acquiring orb-shaped RTD line BuzzBallz last year and it was among the first major spirit companies to shift its RTD distribution to beer distributors, now giving Coca-Cola’s beverages a robust distribution footprint. 
Read more.

Orange liqueur Cointreau is stepping out of the backbar shadows and into the spotlight with its first ready-to-serve (RTS) line. The new product hits three trendy marks: low-ABV, spritz, and ready-to-drink/serve. Rémy Cointreau, traditionally focused on high-end cognacs and whiskies, is aiming to capitalize on RTS sales (+15% last year). Check it out.

The controversial study that drew the ire of beverage-alcohol industry trade groups will not be published. The Alcohol Intake and Health Study warned that even one drink a day raises the risk of certain cancers. The scientists who wrote it were told that the final version would not be submitted to Congress as part of the process evaluating alcohol’s place in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Insiders can read more about the report and the decision to exclude it.

The maker of Absolut Vodka is going all in on RTDs. Pernod Ricard is shaking up its distribution partnerships as it plans to triple its ready-to-drink (RTD) footprint in the U.S. over the next three years. With RNDC now out of California, Pernod Ricard was one of the last major spirits groups to announce its new distribution strategy, and it includes a whole patchwork of partners (some of them new). Check it out.

One of Japan’s best-known business leaders and the head of Suntory Holdings has resigned after a police investigation into the purchase of supplements that may have violated the country’s strict drug laws. Talk about a little jet-lag relief gone wrong.

Ordering a zero-proof option at a bar or restaurant can mean anything from a soda to a non-alc beer, but how are some of the country’s buzziest bars experimenting with non-alc options? We asked the creators behind the menus of three bars and restaurants in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York how they’re addressing the economic challenges of NA drinks, what traps to avoid on menus and how drinkers are reacting to the zero-proof side of the menu. Read what they said.

Late summer adult non-alc offerings include a desert-inspired spritz from Parch, buzzy coffee elixirs from Lapo’s and Wilderton, and two agave spirit replacements that keep the plant in the forefront. More here.