More than half of adult non-alcoholic (ANA) dollar sales can be attributed to new consumers to the emerging category, according to new NIQ research. That poses opportunities for new ANA brands to connect with consumers who are still figuring out how NA plays a role in their total beverage consumption habits, NIQ’s Kaleigh Theriault shared in a webinar Thursday.

In today’s Top Story, Insiders are checking out other ANA trends across beer, wine and spirits, including repeat rates and top brands. Plus, they’re learning about how craft and the segment’s consumers are participating in ANA, according to a new report from the Brewers Association. 

In our Brewbound Insider Newsletter and on Brewbound.com, Insiders are also reading about:

• Layoffs at Point Blank Distributing following its sale to Columbia;
• NA cocktails trends at top NYC bars (and why they may not help NA spirits);
• Auctions by Deep Ellum and Trillium;
• People moves at ArentFox Schiff, Right Coast Spirits and NOCA;
• And Great Lakes Brewing’s entry into the THC beverage market.

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The majority of adult non-alcoholic (ANA) beverage buyers are new consumers to the category, suggesting opportunities for suppliers looking to have a greater impact on the trend, according to new data from market research firm NIQ. 

NIQ presented its latest NA findings Thursday in a webinar co-hosted by the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA), citing both consumer panel results and off-premise scan data.

The firm’s research found that 74% of total ANA shoppers in 2025 were “new buyers,” meaning they hadn’t purchased ANA products in the previous calendar year. New buyers also accounted for 54% of total ANA dollar sales in the last year.

The prominence of new buyers suggests established ANA brands can’t sit on their laurels, NIQ director of bev-alc thought leadership Kaleigh Theriault shared during the webinar. 

Insiders can read more from NIQ on how the top NA beer brands – and the total number of brands – have shifted in the last 3 years, as well as insights into how craft is participating in the segment, courtesy of Brewers Association staff economist Matt Gacioch. 

Point Blank Distributing will lay off 177 employees once the sale of the OR-based distributor to Columbia Distributing is complete, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing made Thursday with the state.

Point Blank employees will be terminated around the March 31 closing date, “as is customary in an asset sale,” Point Blank owner Scott Willis wrote in the filing. He added that Columbia is expected to offer continued employment to some Point Blank employees. 

Insiders can read the breakdown of how each Point Blank warehouse is affected.

The best NY bars for NA cocktails don’t heavily rely on NA spirits, according to the inaugural NYC’s Best Bars for NA 2025 Awards.

Judge Sam Bail (Bright Nights Social) sees NA cocktails in 3 waves: the mocktail made with syrups and juices; the cocktail analogs made with spirit replacements; and a third wave that looks closer to craft cocktails – often requiring more time from the beverage staff than for alcoholic drinks.

This 3rd wave of cocktails is what made this year’s winners stand out, as beverage managers take culinary approaches to drinks. But that may not bode well for brands aiming to be the starring ingredient of NA cocktails.

Insiders can read why here.

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Nichole Shustack, Isabelle Cunningham, Helen Plunkett and Michael Rudy have joined the Food, Drug, Medical Device & Cosmetic Practice at ArentFox Schiff, where they will focus on bolstering the bev-alc regulatory practice, the firm announced.

Shustack, Cunningham and Plunkett join the firm from Nutter, McClennen and Fish. Rudy joins the firm as counsel from Mast-Jägermeister US, where he served as COO and chief counsel.

After nearly 30 years selling Harpoon and its sibling brands, Jon Schwartz has been named director of commercial strategy at Right Coast Spirits, the JV between Harpoon’s parent company Barrel One Collective and FX Matt Brewing.

Much of Schwartz’s work will center on Italian Ice, the 7.5% ABV vodka-based RTD that has become Right Coast’s lead offering. 

Insiders can read more about the above hirings, as well as a promotion at NOCA Beverages. 

Minneapolis has dominated national headlines for weeks as area residents protest the Department of Homeland Security’s heightened crackdown on MN’s large immigrant population. Tensions have intensified as ICE agents have killed 2 American citizens in shootings that have been recorded by observers. 

Local businesses such as Insight Brewing have taken a stand against ICE's occupation of the city. Insight marketing manager Joey Steinbach joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss how the brewery has stepped up as a community hub by collecting food and other donations to distribute to mutual aid groups, supporting neighbors who participated in last week’s general strike and emphasizing its role as a friendly 3rd space.

Insight has walked a tightrope between using its social media accounts to call for an end to the ICE occupation and request donations for its community pantry (in exchange for a complimentary beer), while still promoting its ongoing taproom programming. 

Steinbach said: “It just felt wrong to stay silent about it, despite people thinking that politics and beer don't really align. If you go back to the origins of taprooms – pubs – it's a public house, it's a community space. It's not just about pushing a product. It's not just about the bottom dollar. It's definitely a community space for everyone, especially including our immigrant neighbors.”

Listen here. 

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