This new consumer expectation is manifesting itself at different speeds around the world, and by 2022 will already represent a global market of 11 billion dollars, with projected growth of 7 to 10% a year over the next 10 years.

The challenge for the beer, wine and spirits industries is to develop innovative know-how to create the quality products that will meet these expectations. 

This is the mission of B&S TECH, which in the space of 4 years has become the leading technical solutions platform for the development and industrialization of No/Low beverages.

In this context, it was important for VIVELYS to launch its new range, BOISE ABSOLU, the fruit of 10 years of in-house research and 3 years of intensive development, thus introducing a revolutionary instant technique to the world of No/Low beverages.

Both pioneers in their field, B&S TECH and VIVELYS have naturally joined forces to bring their respective skills to bear on this market, now seen as a real opportunity for the beer, wine and spirits industries. 

"The growth prospects for No/Low beverages are based on a move upmarket and an increase in consumption frequency. From a sensory point of view, dealcoholization involves major technical challenges, and innovation is now at the heart of this market's development", explains Stéphane BRIERE, Managing Director of B&S Tech.

"It was important for us to invent a new Boisé concept, rooted in our DNA in order to meet the technical challenges of this market, and we have succeeded," confirms Karine HERREWYN, Vivelys Managing Director. 

"BOISE ABSOLU is a 100% natural oak extract of exceptional quality, incredibly concentrated and endowed with a striking aromatic intensity. As such, it's a true breakthrough innovation," she continues.

This collaboration with B&S Tech helped Vivelys to characterize the contribution of its oenological woods throughout the dealcoholization process. 

For his part, Stéphane Brière considers that for B&S Tech "this experimentation plan carried out over several months with Vivelys has enabled us to refine our practices and wood selection. The results of these trials open up new perspectives for us to support our customers in their quest for quality products".

Boisé Absolu is composed of 4 natural extracts from the iconic Boisé France references. Each of these extracts brings complexity and aromatic intensity, from fresh oak notes to vanilla, toasted, spicy or smoky notes, and increases sweetness and length in the mouth.

B&S TECH and Vivelys are members of the No/Low wine collective.

The first fair entirely dedicated to non-alcoholic drinks will be held at the beginning of July at the Marché du Lez in Montpelier, and de-alcoholized drinks are in the spotlight! The organizers are keen to highlight local products from the French terroir. Wines, beers and non-alcoholic spirits will find their place there. An event that makes sense at the beginning of this summer and this period of strong heat.

Indeed, it is not recommended to consume alcohol in the middle of a heat wave, and for a good reason: alcohol dehydrates! Ethanol molecules will affect the activity of the kidneys by disturbing the production of vasopressin, a hormone produced by the brain, more precisely by the hypothalamus. Released in the blood, it will have an anti-diuretic role.

Drinking alcohol will therefore lead to an overproduction of urine and a too rapid elimination of our body's water reserves. The quantities contained in alcoholic beverages do not allow to compensate for these losses, our body finds itself having to draw water from its last resources, such as the brain. This is what causes the symptoms of a "hangover". Alcohol increases the risk of sunstroke and even hyperthermia.

It is therefore advisable to limit alcohol consumption when the sun is shining, and to turn instead to non-alcoholic drinks. Wine, beer or de-alcoholized spirits are a better alternative to continue to consume a festive drink as an aperitif while avoiding "heat stroke". Nevertheless, in these hot periods, the most important thing is to drink water, of course!

Some new products in the alcohol-free sector have just arrived on the market.

Among them, Heineken has decided to change the rules and is launching the world premiere of its famous alcohol-free beer, Heineken 0.0 on draught. It will be available in hundreds of English pubs from next year. The introduction of this draught will give people even more choice and will be crucial in standardising and accelerating the uptake of alcohol-free and low-alcohol beer.

Meanwhile, global drinks group Kerry this week decided to launch 'Botanicals Collection Zero 2.0', a new generation of botanical extracts containing 0% ethanol, designed for low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage applications such as mocktails. These new extracts will allow non-alcoholic cocktails, among others, to be given fruity, floral or spicy flavours to enhance the creative ideas of bartenders.

Finally, the famous non-alcoholic beverage brand Lyre, has just announced a new round of funding, enabling it to be valued at $500 million today, compared to $185 million earlier in the year. While the brand sold its first bottle in 2019, Mark Livings, co-founder and CEO of Lyre, said it sells one every 30 seconds now.

    Although non-alcoholic beverages still represent only a small part of all the drinks available on supermarket shelves, their success is no longer a secret. Boosted by the pandemic, how will these new alternatives evolve in the years to come?

    Many alcohol drinkers have cut back on their consumption during the containment period and turned to non-alcoholic or low-alcohol alternatives. For example, Kim Cox, senior vice president of account development at NielsenIQ, found that demand for non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages has exploded in the past year. In the US, this year's off-premise sales reached $3.1 billion in the low and non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits categories, an increase of more than 1000% over the previous year.

"Non-alcoholic beverages used to be reserved for situations where one could not drink - designated drivers, pregnancy, recovering alcoholics, etc. Today's consumer maintains that they can drink alcohol, but they just don't want to," comments Dave Deuser, CEO of sales and marketing at Radeberger Gruppe USA.

    In light of this promising trend, Insider's analysis remains very enthusiastic: "Non-alcoholic spirits will continue to grow in 2022.”

As consumers drink less and less alcohol, it seems natural that the popularity of low or fully de-alcoholised drinks will increase. Among these new consumers, Millennials and Gen Z - who drink less than Boomers and Gen X at their age - are leading this sobriety movement.

"I think this trend has a future, as we've seen both consumer demand and a desire for brands to meet that demand with new and exciting non-alcoholic formats," concludes Mary Guiver, global category manager for beer and spirits at Whole Foods.

    So there's still plenty of time for alcohol-free!

    With the development of non-alcoholic beverages, the trend among consumers is to look for innovation and quality!

    The flavour and fragrance company Givaudan recently published a survey of 6,000 European consumers and the findings are clear: 60% of alcohol drinkers are reducing their consumption. This is not news when we know the success of operations such as the current Sober October.

If the reasons for this search for sobriety are diverse, improvement of well-being or physical condition for the most part, consumers are unanimous on one point: it is necessary for the offer to develop and for new products to be launched. Indeed, with the multiplication of consumers, a strong demand for quality is expressed.  There are still many products that do not come from de-alcoholisation technologies, although they are very qualitative, but from other less efficient methods: such as the use of reworked grape juice to make alcohol-free wine, for example.

    In this spirit of seeking quality, the players in the sector are increasingly turning to these technologies. The Brasserie du Mont Blanc, for example, decided to opt for vacuum distillation to create its first alcohol-free IPA beer, Cristal 0.0%. This technology preserves the spirit of the original beer by offering a completely alcohol-free version.

The Canadian company St Régis, already known for its alcohol-free wines, is also innovating and now offers its first de-alcoholised Spritz. Low in sugar, this ready-to-drink alcohol-free spritz is the perfect alternative to the classic spritz.

The famous Spanish Cava brand, Freixenet, has also decided to take the step of dealcoholisation and now offers its Cordon Negro in alcohol-free form, respecting the spirit and aromatic characteristics of its alcoholic counterpart.

    Faced with a consumer demand for novelty and innovation, the sector's players can rely on dealcoholisation technologies to develop quality alcohol-free products by enhancing their history and know-how. It is in this spirit that B&S Tech accompanies the players in the various sectors.

http://dealcoholization.zohosites.com/

    There are more and more sobriety challenge proposals. We already know about the now famous Dry January followed by almost 10% of the French population in 2021 or the Sober October launched with the objective of raising funds to fight against breast cancer, there has also been a more confidential initiative for several years: the September Sober.

    The aim of the September Sober is not to raise money for charity, but to encourage people to take stock of their alcohol consumption and to take a break after the excesses of the summer. The personal challenge is to stay totally sober for the whole month of September or even for 66 days as proposed by the Tribe Sober association.

This month of sobriety can be the opportunity for many to test the many alcohol-free alternatives released this year. More and more of these new drinks are appearing on supermarket shelves and on the Internet.

    For example, the famous beer brand Stella Artois is launching its first alcohol-free beer this month. This 0.0 beer, inspired by the classic Stella Artois lager, has a 'malty sweetness' and a 'hoppy bitterness', characteristics that are dear to the brand. Peter Van Overstraeten, vice president of Anheuser-Busch's Premium and Super Premium USA division, said in a statement, "With this new innovation, we want to give people the freedom to enjoy more of life's special moments with those who matter most.

    Belgian brands such as Stella are turning to alcohol-free beverages because more and more consumers are attracted to these alcohol-free alternatives. In Germany, for example, alcohol consumption is falling. In 2008, only 141 litres of alcoholic beverages were consumed per capita, whereas in 2019 this figure was 129 litres. Indeed, Germans drinking non-alcoholic beers have become very numerous: according to a consumption study carried out for the DBB (Deutsche Brauer-Bund ) in January 2021, almost 46% of the German population now drinks non-alcoholic beers. Moreover, DBB announced that non-alcoholic beer is the fastest growing category in the last 12 years.

    So this September is another opportunity to take a break from alcohol consumption and discover new alcohol-free products developed by the beer, wine and spirits industries.