Over the past two years, the non-alcoholic beverage market has seen huge expansion, with many Kiwis giving up the booze – but why are zero alcohol wine, beer and spirits a similar price to their alcoholic cousins?
Non-alcoholic beverage makers say it’s all about producing the same quality people would expect to get from top-shelf alcohol.
The expensive machines sometimes used to take the alcohol out of the finished product also add to the price.
Aucklander Grant Caunter, the owner of New Zealand’s first non-alcoholic brewery, State of Play, said the company brewed its drinks “exactly how beer is brewed”.
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State of Play uses its own unique yeast, which “delivers complex flavour notes”.
“This different strain of yeast allows the brew to fully ferment without producing alcohol,” Caunter said.
The complexity of the brewing process – and investing in high-quality New Zealand hops and Canterbury malt – contributed to the price, he said.
State of Play retails at $20 for a six-pack, the same price as other alcoholic craft beers, such as Brother’s Beer or Parrotdog.
Amanda Boock, of non-alcoholic beverages retail website The Chiller, said there was a “misconception” regarding the pricing of zero products.
Despite there being no alcohol tax on the products, the quality and creation process meant the prices “even out”.
“Part of our mission is to help people understand that zero products are amazingly crafted.”
Boock said the various methods of creating zero alcohol drinks added to the costs to the distilling or brewing processes.
“Traditionally, [the brewers] start with a full strength beverage and methods are used to remove the alcohol, such as vacuum distillations, which lowers boiling point to retain flavour, boiling alcohol off,” she said.
Other producers of non-alcoholic beverages, such as Giesen Wines, have invested in a machine that can remove alcohol without damaging the aroma or flavour.
“To make a true zero alcohol wine, you have to start with a wine, a premium wine,” chief winemaker Duncan Shouler said.
“We invested in a spinning cone unit, and that’s part of the cost.”
The spinning cone machine cost the company $1 million.
A bottle of Giesen Zero sauvignon blanc retails for about $15, the same price as a mid-range Stoneleigh or The Ned sauvignon blanc.
Lyre’s, a non-alcoholic spirit brand, has been producing natural spirits for many years.
“These high-quality products are expensive to produce, and with the level of innovation to make Lyre’s a premium product, the price reflects that quality,” Lyre’s global flavour architect and co-creator David Murphy said.
He compared the price of Lyre’s to that of “top shelf” spirits.
“You know those top-shelf products are superior in craft … This is reflected in the non-alcoholic space too,” he said.
A 12 pack of Lyre’s pre-mixed drinks retails at $67, while a 12 pack of alcoholic pre-mixed is $25.
Non-alcoholic beers, wines and spirits currently hold 2% of the beverage market. They are estimated to be worth $1.7 trillion by 2028.
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