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‘No excuses’ for poor non-alcoholic ‘spirits’
By Melita KielySeedlip founder Ben Branson said there were “no excuses” for making poor non-alcoholic beverage options as the category gains momentum.

Speaking during the Club Soda Low, Light and Alcohol-Free Summit in London this week, Branson – who also founded venture studio Pollen Projects and opened a non-alcoholic distillery and maturation laboratory in Essex, UK, last week – addressed a room full of non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits producers, distributors, and retailers.
He noted the industry has developed a lot over the last decade – and stressed the importance of creating quality products to avoid being seen as “less than” alcoholic options.
This is particularly important as data suggests the majority of consumers are moderating their alcohol intake with non-alcoholic choices, rather than moving to complete sobriety.
“Ultimately, there are no excuses not to make great non-alcoholic options and to have great, profitable non-alcoholic businesses. There are no excuses now,” Branson said.
“There’s a lot of work to do. I am hopeful that’s why we are all here at this summit. We recognise it’s come a long way. There’s a really exciting future if we don’t fuck it up. It’s this room of people who can take it forward, or fuck it up.”
‘We need to grow up’
While category definitions and guidelines are evolving, he noted how the ability to be creative was also a benefit for non-alcoholic producers, compared with more rigid rules for distillers.
However, he warned how quality is imperative to the category’s success, and its ability to be seen as an equal to alcohol, not “beneath alcohol”.
“There’s the most incredible freedom with non-alcoholic, and I would love for us over the next 10 years to take ownership of our category,” Branson said. “It’s not about breaking away from alcohol; it’s about not being [seen as] less than or beneath alcohol. It’s the whole gamut – it’s about taking responsibility for our strategy. We need to grow up. That’s certainly what I’ve seen over the last 10 years but it’s still early days and we have a lot more to do.
“One of the big things I notice at the moment is we all know there’s amazing demand. The appetite is incredible, and growing globally. But people have bad first experiences of this category and all it does is erode trust; they feel cheated, and the tendency then is to reject the category.
“If there’s more crap than quality, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce [what will happen].
“[The drinks industry] is a prop for social occasions. I am forever thinking about the future of socialising, not the future of the non-alcoholic category.”
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