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Cul Sec Is Betting Its U.S. Entry on Sommeliers
A premium product that maps to no existing shelf set faces a specific risk in retail: the buyer meets it with skepticism, and no one is standing there to resolve it. Cul Sec, a Dutch wine alternative entering the U.S.
What Comes After Adaptogens
For years, functional beverages sold a promise: drink this, feel something. Adaptogens became a primary lever of this segment, with brands betting that consumers leaving alcohol still wanted a beverage that altered their state, and that these ingredients could deliver
Inside Big Alc’s Invest-to-Acquire Playbook
A large beverage company rarely walks up to a non-alc brand and buys it outright. A slower, more deliberate pattern has emerged over the past decade: a minority venture stake first, several years of observation, then a move to full
What It Actually Takes to Get Into Whole Foods
Many beverage founders treat a Whole Foods buyer meeting as the finish line. The reality is the opposite: the meeting is roughly the midpoint of a process that can run three to five years from first contact, and the common
Sustaining: Non-Alc’s Overlooked Occasion
The term “alcohol alternatives” assumes the job of these products is to reduce how much alcohol someone drinks. Swap the cocktail, moderate the intake. Indeed, most of the category has organized itself around the premise that these beverages are direct
Non-Alc Wine Brands Are Adding ABV—and Splitting on How
Two non-alc wine brands, years into operating exclusively <0.5% ABV, both decided to add alcohol. Wednesday’s Domaine recently launched a 6.5% ABV range under its existing brand. In 2024, Brandon Joldersma, CEO of Surely, launched Arlow as a separate low-ABV