Beers, wines, pastis and even whiskey: all alcohols are now available in a non-alcoholic version.

Sometimes simple marketing on the occasion of "Dry January", there is behind a real underlying trend with French people who seek to limit their alcohol consumption without going so far as to drink only fruit juices and sodas.

In 2020, sales skyrocketed.

DECRYPTION

A few hours before New Year's Eve, it's time to think about your good resolutions for 2021. More sport, better nutrition or even… less alcohol.

Indeed, January 1 marks the beginning of "Dry January", a challenge that consists of going without alcohol for a month, just to recover from the excesses of the holidays.

Except that in the land of wine and champagne, it's easier said than done.

It is not always easy to take tomato juice as an aperitif.

To motivate yourself, there are more and more drinks that imitate traditional alcohols.

They even meet with growing success.

>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here

15% growth for alcohol-free beers in 2020

In recent years, the shelves of supermarkets have seen more and more references to "non-alcoholic alcoholic beverages", starting with beers.

All the major industrial breweries offer it.

Along with coolers, alcohol-free beers now represent 8% of beer sales in France.

"Before, the few existing products did not take because it was difficult to truly reproduce the taste of traditional beer. For 4-5 years, manufacturers have developed techniques for cooling, dealcoholization and interruption of fermentation which allow not to alter the taste of the beer ", specifies Maxime Costilhes, general delegate of the Brasseurs de France.

And there is a real underlying trend.

"In 2020, a disastrous year for the brewery, we will have growth of around 15% for sales of non-alcoholic beer", emphasizes Maxime Costilhes.

In a context of continuous decline in average alcohol consumption since 1950, "a new market is opening up".

“Today, it is above all the large industrialists who produce non-alcoholic beers. But there are still around fifty craft breweries, out of 2,000 in France, which currently have non-alcoholic beer projects in development. , it is to reproduce the diversity of classic beers without alcohol ", explains the general delegate of Brasseurs de France.

Alcohol-free wines on the tables of starred restaurants

Even more surprising than beer, we now find alcohol-free wines.

White, red, rosé… at zero degrees, like those from Le Petit Béret.

Founded by an entrepreneur, Fathi Benni, and the best sommelier in France Dominique Laporte, in 2015, this Hérault start-up has developed 24 references of non-alcoholic drinks.

Beers but also and above all wines.

"We start from a selection of grape varieties. We have created a process which allows us, based on grape must, to transform the grapes and obtain aromatic qualities. At the end of the day, we have drinks very close to what you usually find on a wine list, ”says Fathi Benni.

Technically, we should not speak of wine, a designation valid only for drinks exceeding 9 degrees of alcohol.

"But aromatically speaking, the resemblance is bluffing: you find the nose, the structure in the mouth, you have tannins and acidity", develops the CEO of Le Petit Béret.

A recipe that works since the company exports today to around thirty countries and its wines are even found in starred restaurants.

“Each year, we have an 80% growth in activity,” explains Fathi Benni.

Marketing and a societal trend

Even large groups are embarking on experiments with "non-alcoholic alcoholic beverages".

This year, Martini launched L'Aperitivo Sans Alcool, a variation of its famous drink.

Shortly before, it was Pernod-Ricard which had launched a range dedicated to the occasion of "Dry January" with gin and alcohol-free whiskey.

Even pastis exists in a 0% version with the Pacific range.

For Fathi Benni, it's not just marketing.

"There is a strong demand from consumers who are careful about their alcohol consumption, who want to drink less but who are still looking for sharing drinks that taste and give pleasure," said the CEO of Le Small Beret.

Besides, these new drinks also have another advantage. "In the case of beers, the only source of calories is alcohol. If you remove alcohol, they are necessarily much lighter," recalls Maxime Costilhes, of Brasseurs de France. And then there is a non-negligible interest: it is a parade of social pressure. Ordering tomato juice or sparkling water is not always well regarded in our society, where non-alcoholic beer remains above all a beer.