Dive Brief:
- Two companies, Wine Water and Napa Hills, have introduced non-alcoholic, wine-based beverages to the market, according to The Shelby Report and FoodBev Media.
- Both beverages use wine grape skins to derive the same healthful extracts and antioxidants that are naturally present in wine.
- The two beverages are being marketed differently. Wine Water, which produces O.Vine, is focusing on translating the joys of savoring a complex and flavorful wine in a non-alcoholic beverage. Napa Hills, the maker of Vineyard Enriched Water, is concentrating on the health benefits with none of the alcohol.
Dive Insight:
A recent report found millennials, who make up 32% of American wine drinkers, are more interested in beverages with health properties like probiotics than Generation X and Baby Boomers. Similarly, in the Beverage Industry's 2018 product development outlook, 62% of U.S. consumers are seeking natural beverage options, which many shoppers associate natural products with authentic, traditional production methods.
Wine Water and Napa Hills are looking to these trends to help popularize their wine-like drinks that boast colors and ingredients derived from red or white wine grape waste as well as a wealth of anti-oxidants like resveratrol.
Alcohol-free wine could be a blessing and a curse for these startups. From the inability to consume alcohol to pregnancy, there are a number of reasons why someone would forego a glass of wine in favor of a non-alcoholic beverage. Other consumers who love the taste of wine but have jobs, families or other responsibilities and don't want to deal with the aftermath, might be attracted to this new product at parties or even bars. Wine Water and Napa Hills are angling to reach these customers. However, for those who can indulge, the question is whether consumers enjoy the taste of wine enough to keep drinking even if they will not benefit from the alcohol’s secondary effects.
Beverage trends continue to show a strong and growing focus on nutrition rather than just pure refreshment. Howard Telford, the senior beverage analyst at Euromonitor International, told Food Dive earlier this year, “People are interested in functionality, and instead of asking ‘What’s in this bottle,’ they’re asking ‘What is this bottle doing for me?’”
With this momentum behind them, non-alcoholic wines would do well to align themselves with other authentic drinks such as kombucha, bone broth, and herbal tonics, which have seen meteoric rises in sales and popularity. Wine Water and Napa Hills should focus their marketing efforts on touting the health benefits of their products, the taste and the absence of the hangover impact.