Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2023: NoLo Interchangeability

As featured in the Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2023

With consumers choosing to drink alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails at the same occasion, without any social stigma, the stage is set for a period of non-alcoholic and low-proof (NoLo) experimentation. The growing adoption of NoLo cocktails is piquing bartenders’ interest, with the Bacardi Global Brand Ambassador Survey 2022 showing that 49% of are curious about cocktails with non-alcoholic spirits.

Across key markets, the majority of NoLo drinkers can now be more accurately categorized as “Substituters” – those who enjoy NoLo drinks in place of full-strength drinks on certain occasions, rather than those who eschew alcohol altogether. IWSR research confirms that in the U.K., 40% of NoLo consumers are Substituters, with legal drinking age (LDA) Generation Z and millennials (46% and 41%, respectively) more likely to substitute than Boomers (36%).

LDA Gen Z and millennials in the U.K. are also more likely to be “Blenders”, switching between NoLo and full- strength on the same occasion (20% and 23%, respectively). These new consumer categorizations are already resulting in category growth, with NoLo alcohol forecast to outpace full-proof category growth tenfold, according to IWSR.

This is leading NoLo innovations to call time on overly sweet or tasteless mocktails. Non-alcoholic choices are being creatively crafted with flavor, in the same vein as full-proof spirits.

MARTINI Vibrante for example, is a non-alcoholic aperitivo that is made with the same quality of wines, herbs and botanicals selected by the brand’s master herbalists for its other alcohol offerings. Harnessing the skills of MARTINI master blender Beppe Musso, it’s crafted using pioneering technology that gently removes the alcohol from the drink to preserve its authentic characteristics and flavors.

Download the complete Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report 2023 and Infographic.