Sober & Cool: the era of alcohol-free, sacrifice-free drinks begins

Alongside wines, beers and spirits, alcohol-free alternatives that do not give up the taste and pleasure of the experience are advancing. But how do these new products communicate? How close are they to the codes of spirits, and how far do they chart their original path in packaging design? We discussed this with four communication experts - Paola Garavaglia and Alessandra Baicchi of Break Design, Luca Riva of Dude, Arturo Vittorioso of H2H - and three of the most interesting Italian brands: Amaro VENTI, Conviv and MeMento.

By Roberta Ragona | On PRINTlovers 96

From the important moments in life to the coveted weekend relaxation, occasions for sociability and celebration are associated with the idea of drinking in company. In recent years, alcohol-free options have been added to wine, beer and spirits. On the one hand, there is a change in habits, whereby even those who typically enjoy alcohol may want an alternative in certain circumstances, such as maintaining concentration during a business lunch or reducing alcohol intake after particularly enjoyable moments (this is the case with Dry January, an alcohol-free month after the winter holidays). On the other hand, there is a generational change of pace: the so-called Gen Z drink on average 20% less alcohol per head than the Millennials - Berenberg Research data - who belong to a much more gloomy generation than Gen X and Baby Boomers. And last but not least, a high-end mixology and catering offering that wants to cater to a public that can abstain from alcohol consumption for cultural, health or contextual reasons without sacrificing taste. The market is in an explosive phase: according to a survey, 72 new brands of alcohol-free products were launched in the US market alone between 2021 and 2022, and demand for no- or low-alcohol beverages grew by 60 per cent between July 2020 and July 2021. The industry volume is estimated at $11 billion and is growing at double-digit rates. And in Italy? While the production and consumption of alcohol is a cultural fact, there is an equally long tradition of non-alcoholic aperitif drinks.

The first hurdle in this new market is lexical and regulatory, as Paola Garavaglia, Managing Partner and Co-Owner of Break Design, explains: "From a legislative point of view, drinks containing less than 0.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) are considered non-alcoholic. Among the no- and low-alcohol, you find both products made by dealcoholisation and native no-alcohol. It is an enormously atomised niche that includes the non-alcoholic equivalent of all spirits, beer, wine and spirits, whites, browns and bitters. Without a common framework, each category has followed its own logic, e.g. wines and beers have adopted the term 'zero' following the example of sugar-free soft drinks, but there is also talk of imitation spirits, near-beers, and alcohol-free spirits."

In the case of MeMento, a brand founded by Eugenio Muraro, the choice was to start as a native alcohol-free product: "MeMento is a non-alcoholic distillate obtained by steam current, without alcohol at any stage of processing. Our customers are mainly high-end cocktail bars, restaurants and hôtellerie, whose clientele increasingly demands alternative options to alcoholic beverages to match the overall experience."

And it is precisely B2B that is the first audience the communication is aimed at, emphasises Luca Riva, Creative Director of Dude: "The first audience to be convinced is not the end consumer but bartenders and mixologists, and this is reflected in communication choices and product design. Normally, non-alcoholic products are placed under the bar among the ingredients. Now, however, they tend to enter by right among customer-facing products and be displayed in the bottle as much as spirits. 'Bottlability' drives the aesthetic choices."

Even before the bartenders, there is a fundamental intermediary who must be able to tell the product's story, points out Lorenzo Cinelli, founder with Mattia Vita of Conviv: "Elevating the moment of consumption of the non-alcoholic drink is a concept that must first be explained to distributors. Like what happens with books, they are the first line to talk about a new product. They must be able to explain it to the purchasing managers of the premises and make them understand that it can respond to a demand. We tried to translate the ingredient work into the packaging: this is something we concentrated on for a long time with Spider - the agency that supported us in the development - trying to work with the associations that are already in people's minds, such as the red of the bitter, which is the classic ruby colour associated with the Italian aperitif. Our product is made with cold infusion for 30 days and hand-processed raw materials."

These different audiences - distributors, bartenders, consumers - reverberate on the choice of materials, as Alessandra Baicchi, Account Manager at Break Design, tells us: "From the point of view of substrates, glass is the star, with glass vs aluminium weights completely overturned compared to the non-alcoholic soft drink area. Differentiation will also be dictated by the age group of the target, with cans for ready-to-drink products for young people and glass for a more adult target. But in a young target group, the mental association between glass and premium products is not yet ingrained, so there is room for experimentation with more versatile media. In their case, the competing products are not the sharing of the bottle while seated, typical of adults, but individual consumption on the go and the habit of drinks not consumed by previous generations, such as takeaway coffee blends or bubble tea."

But RTD formats are not only the younger generation's prerogative, as MeMento demonstrates: "Our product was chosen by NIO, the start-up offering expertly crafted cocktails at home, as the basis for its 4 alcohol-free cocktails. The single-serve RTD version is considered an entry point for those who want to explore the world of non-alcoholic drinks without having the variety of ingredients and essences available at a bar counter."

In the adult audience, on the other hand, the heritage of codes already assimilated by the consumer is cardinal in orienting communication. Paola Garavaglia continues: "The design of non-alcoholic alternatives tends to shy away from gold and foil: colour and material associations such as gold and black are still too closely associated with wine. There is a move towards a vibrant, floral style: an example is the range launched by Martini. Colour choices such as English greens and burgundies are too reminiscent of heritage spirits, so the industry is moving towards unusual colours, such as the pastel range and pop accents with fluorescent colours. A multi-sensory experience is sought, leaving it to reliefs, textures, tactile elements, and glossy/matt contrasts to convey the sense of premiumness. In the case of spirits, on the other hand, where the primary audience is bartenders, the trend is mimesis. We draw on the style of niche craft distillery production, particularly the language of modern gin, with great use of transparencies and lots of screen printing and paper cuts on the labels that enhance the liquid inside."

The MeMento packaging confirms this iconography: "The label is double-sided and die-cut with five vertical stripes representing the MeMento logo and recalling the five senses and the five essences that make up the drink, each distilled separately. Through these five die-cuts, a Mediterranean landscape can be glimpsed on the back of the label, characterised by a different colour for each of our blends. We use a single-material label made of FSC-certified paper, glass bottle, screen-printed cap and wooden bottom. The grip between the cap and the bottle is made of plastic. For the time being, this is still the best solution to ensure the integrity of the product, especially for export: the bottles face long journeys to markets such as the United States and Australia. More importantly, since there is no alcohol to act as a preservative, we use the same safety standards as for beverages."

In the case of Amaro VENTI, on the other hand, it is a matter of continuing through a non-alcoholic option, a flavour profile discourse started with three alcoholic spirits, RIVO Gin, Sloe Gin and the alcoholic Amaro VENTI. Marco Rivolta, the founder of Magi Spirits, explains: "Amaro VENTI draws on the experience of the Italian vermouth and liqueur tradition, with the use of botanical essences gathered exclusively on the mainland. We have a tradition of local bitters in Italy but no product that somehow 'unites Italy' through the different essences. VENTI uses twenty botanicals - one inspired by each Italian region - and starts from the idea of giving the consumer the choice of drinking a product with or without alcohol while keeping the recipe and flavour balance intact. The idea, then, is to offer an unaltered taste experience to be modulated according to circumstances and the moment. This principle is also reflected in the packaging choices, in dialogue with each other. They share elements such as the twenty lines that make up the logo and playful references to an almost alchemic tradition, symbolised by the little hands and the mortar with the ingredients and the motto 'Edamus, Bibeamus, Godeamus'. In the field of alcohol-free spirits, we have a lot of freedom because there are no codified habits yet, from the mould of the bottle to the shape of the label, to colour codes. There is room for innovation."

According to Arturo Vittorioso, Executive Creative Director of H2H, at the moment, brands are trying both directions: "We are in a phase where we find examples of both trends: on the one hand, re-propositions of famous spirits in a no-alcohol version, focusing on brand loyalty and reassurance on the quality of the product that comes from the brand's history. On the other hand, no-alcohol products managed by large groups that communicate as if they were native brands, with communication codes and iconographic choices that aim to distance themselves and try to position themselves as something separate from the industrial group of origin."

After convincing the mixologists, we turn to consumers, Vittorioso notes: "I believe that this type of product is part of a broader market movement, something that addresses highly targeted niches with a specific offer. This includes the recent focus on organic or vegetarian and vegan alternatives to animal proteins. In the area of beer, this attention has also come from craft breweries with very radical philosophies, which have added alcohol-free products to their portfolio to reach a public that does not drink alcohol but may be interested in complex flavour profiles. From a communication point of view, this means creating packaging designs that communicate the sense of choice not as deprivation but as a conscious decision. An example is the communication of 'alcohol-free spirits' as drinks suitable for sportspeople, whereby the aspect of gratification without the burden is emphasised as part of a healthy lifestyle."

A new product has to build an entire printed communication ecosystem around itself, ranging from accessory materials to fittings, says Marco Rivolta: "The novelty of a product also means that the consumption experiences are in a certain sense all to be invented, so we also work a lot on the front of tasting events, mixology guides, and the creation of a network of specialised venues. This will also impact all the accessory products that will be affected by the same communicative change: bases, mixers, premium juices, and the so-called hero ingredients."

Lorenzo Cinelli agrees: "In our offering, we have also included a box, which picks up on the label design with embossed varnish. The box contains the product, two glasses and a tonic selected for pairing. It works as 'taste education' for customers, suggesting a pairing and a recipe and working on the idea that this is a fine product that can be given as a gift as much as a good alcoholic bottle. We have also created a series of playlists on Spotify for the moment of consumption because the moment of the aperitif is equally about the experience and the product."

Luca Riva predicts that the most critical moves in the field of advertising will come with the entry of the big groups: "At the moment, the big groups are making acquisitions and soft launches, but we will probably see some exciting launches in the coming year also through investments in advertising and campaigns. But not only that: joint communication actions with niche soft drink brands, such as mousse, citron or bitters - products that have never left the counters of bars in the Italian provinces and are already part of a great rediscovery phenomenon - will probably become increasingly common."

But the player that will change the face of the market is probably yet another, according to Paola Garavaglia: "The most important sign for the future is the fact that large-scale distribution is becoming aware of this phenomenon, and is gearing up to respond with its own offer. While there is a strong brand heritage for alcoholic beverages, private labels can enter this market as leading players: we are virtually on equal terms because it is a sector where the consumer does not have the benchmark of the big brands. For example, we are already seeing this happening in the wine sector with the Riesling' Virgola Zero' Alcol Free sparkling wine that recently entered the Esselunga range."