Non-alcoholic drinks: revolution or passing trend?

Dealcoholized wines, non-alcoholic beers, alternative spirits and cocktails… These drinks are gradually finding their place in consumer habits. But does this evolution represent a real opportunity for wine merchants and producers?

Just a few years ago, offering a non-alcoholic beer or wine might have seemed anecdotal. Today, these items are taking up more space on shelves, restaurant menus, and producers' ranges.

However, not all categories are progressing at the same pace. For professionals, the challenge is therefore to understand this evolution and the possibilities it opens up for their business.

 

1. Non-alcoholic drinks are gaining ground

The non-alcoholic market is developing, but not all categories are at the same stage. Beer has already found its place in consumer habits, while non-alcoholic wines and spirits are continuing their development.

Beer still dominates the US market by a wide margin

In the United States, non-alcoholic beer and cider accounted for 81% of non-alcoholic drink portions consumed in the categories studied by the IWSR in 2023. Wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic cocktails therefore shared the remaining 19%.¹

Not all categories have the same commercial weight yet, but some are experiencing particularly rapid growth.

Growth that now concerns all categories

According to data published by the IWSR in June 2026, global volumes evolved between 2024 and 2025:

Non-alcoholic wine thus shows faster growth than beer over this period, even if stronger progress does not necessarily mean a higher sales volume.²

And in France, what is the status?

Between 2019 and 2024, non-alcoholic wine volumes grew by an average of 4% per year in France, compared to 15% in the UK and 23% in the US, according to the IWSR.³

The French market is therefore moving at a more moderate pace than some of its neighbors, but its progress has been observed over several years.

These figures show that non-alcoholic drinks are going beyond a mere trend. For wine merchants and producers alike, they open up new perspectives, with opportunities that vary according to categories and consumer expectations.

2. Who consumes non-alcoholic drinks, and why?

The development of non-alcoholic products accompanies a change in habits: many consumers are now adapting their alcohol consumption according to the moment, their desires, and their lifestyle.

Evolving consumer habits

According to Santé publique France, 62.6% of adults aged 18 to 75 consumed alcohol every week in 2000, compared to 39% in 2021.⁴

More recently, an OpinionWay survey for La Brasserie Parallèle reveals that 67% of French people surveyed have already implemented at least one strategy to reduce their alcohol consumption: setting alcohol-free days, limiting the number of drinks per evening, or avoiding certain beverages.⁵

However, this does not mean that these consumers are giving up alcohol for good. According to the IWSR, 50% of French consumers of non-alcoholic or low-alcohol beverages surveyed in 2023 alternated between these products and alcoholic drinks depending on the occasion.⁶

For wine merchants and producers, this is an important distinction: non-alcoholic drinks can also meet the new expectations of their regular customers.

Motivations that go beyond health

The reasons for choosing a non-alcoholic alternative are numerous: taking care of one's health, sleeping better, moderating consumption, or controlling one's budget. Others must or wish to avoid alcohol: drivers, pregnant women, people following certain medical treatments, or people who simply do not enjoy its effects.

But non-alcoholic drinks are not just a choice made out of constraint or moderation. The FranceAgriMer study published in January 2026 shows that taste and curiosity about discovering new drinks are also among the consumers' motivations.⁷

Finally, these alternatives allow you to maintain the pleasure and the codes of a festive moment without consuming alcohol: clinking glasses with non-alcoholic bubbles at Christmas or savoring a non-alcoholic spritz on a terrace, rather than systematically turning to a soda.

Taste remains a challenge for professionals

Consumer interest exists, but their expectations are high. According to OpinionWay, 48% of French people surveyed feel that non-alcoholic alternatives do not taste as good as their alcoholic equivalents, while 38% consider that stores lack interesting options.⁵

3. What opportunities for wine merchants and producers?

Faced with these new habits, non-alcoholic drinks open up new perspectives for professionals in the wine, beer, and spirits sectors. For wine merchants as well as producers, it is not a question of replacing traditional drinks, but of broadening the possibilities to meet more varied desires and consumption occasions.

 

For wine merchants: enriching the offer without giving up advice

Non-alcoholic products allow wine merchants to respond to requests that did not always find their place in their usual selection.

The point is not necessarily to create an entire aisle overnight, but to build a selection that is consistent with one's clientele. As with a traditional bottle, advice then makes it possible to guide each customer according to their tastes, their budget, or the occasion.

Faced with reluctance related to taste, tasting is also an interesting lever. It allows customers to discover products and overcome their preconceptions, while giving the wine merchant the opportunity to guide them toward a reference adapted to their expectations.

 

For producers: exploring new uses

For winemakers, brewers, and distillers, non-alcoholic drinks can also reach consumers who appreciate their universe but do not always want to consume alcohol.

However, the possibilities vary depending on the trades and manufacturing processes. A brewer can develop a non-alcoholic beer; a winemaker can explore the dealcoholization of wine or create a grape-based drink; a distiller can work on a non-alcoholic alternative designed for mixology.

It is, however, important to distinguish a dealcoholized wine from a grape-based drink. The former is made from a wine from which the alcohol has been removed, totally or partially, according to an adapted process. The latter can be designed directly from grape juice and other ingredients, without going through the wine-making process.

 

Some producers who have already taken the plunge

Non-alcoholic drinks are already taking different forms among French producers. The Brasserie de la Pleine Lune applies its expertise to three non-alcoholic beers, while Jaillance explores Muscat grape bubbles with Jay’Up 0.0% and Delight.

For their part, the Caves de Rauzan combine dealcoholized white wine and sparkling grape juice, while the Cave de Ribeauvillé offers dealcoholized vintages, with or without bubbles.

Four examples that show there is not just one way to develop non-alcoholic products: each producer can adapt it to their trade and their expertise.

For producers and wine merchants alike, the challenge is to make non-alcoholic drinks a real tasting choice, appreciated for their taste, quality, and the pleasure they provide, rather than a solution chosen by default because they contain no alcohol.

 

4. The holiday season: an opportunity to meet the demand for non-alcoholic drinks

At Christmas and New Year, large tables bring together people with different habits. Some appreciate wine or champagne, while others prefer to avoid alcohol, occasionally or all year round. Yet everyone must be able to enjoy the pleasure of clinking glasses and sharing a festive drink.

For wine merchants, this is an opportunity to provide a selection adapted to these different needs, alongside traditional references.

 

Offering an alternative for every moment of the holidays

From appetizers to the meal, up to the moment of toasting, there is no shortage of occasions to offer non-alcoholic drinks. Highlighting the references according to their use, rather than under the sole "non-alcoholic" label, can help customers choose more easily.

 

Making non-alcoholic drinks a real gift idea

Non-alcoholic drinks can also find their place under the tree! A beautiful bottle, some fine grocery products, and festive packaging make it possible to create a composition that focuses as much on the pleasure of tasting as on that of giving.

For wine merchants and fine grocers, this is a way to expand their end-of-year gift offerings and meet the needs of customers who are looking for a gift adapted to a person who does not consume alcohol, without compromising on presentation.

Packaging then fully plays its role: it transforms a selection of products into a gift ready to be given. With its bags, boxes, and baskets in Christmas colors, the Bellagio range by Oplezio allows for showcasing these compositions, with or without alcohol.

Conclusion

The figures and the evolution of consumer habits show that non-alcoholic drinks are part of a fundamental trend. The goal is not to replace traditional wines, beers, and spirits, but to make room for new alternatives, adapted to other desires and consumption moments.

For wine merchants as well as producers, this evolution opens up new possibilities: enriching their offer, accompanying consumers in their choices, and offering everyone a drink adapted to their tastes, their desires, and their consumption occasions.

 

Sources

¹ What’s driving the growth of no-alcohol in the US? – IWSR, May 2024
Breakdown of non-alcoholic drinks by category in the US in 2023.
Consult the study

² A major reset: beverage alcohol volumes fall again in 2025 – IWSR, June 2026
Global evolution of non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits volumes between 2024 and 2025.
Consult the study

³ No- and low-alcohol wine surfs moderation trend – IWSR
Evolution of the non-alcoholic wine market between 2019 and 2024, notably in France, the UK, and the US.
Consult the study

⁴ Evolution of alcohol consumption in France – Santé publique France, 2024
Data on weekly alcohol consumption of adults aged 18 to 75.
Consult the study

⁵ The French, alcohol, and moderation – OpinionWay for La Brasserie Parallèle, November 2025
Survey on moderation habits, motivations, and barriers to non-alcoholic drink consumption.
Consult the survey

⁶ No-alcohol share of overall alcohol market expected to grow to nearly 4% by 2027 – IWSR, December 2023
Data on consumers alternating between alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic or low-alcohol alternatives.
Consult the study

⁷ Consumer perception of No/Low products – FranceAgriMer, January 2026
Study on motivations, expectations, and consumption occasions for non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages in France.
Consult the study