Non-alcoholic specialists, Naked Life, has announced its new range of seven zero alcohol ‘spirits’, following on from the brand’s successful RTD collection.
The non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ are designed to recall the flavours of their alcoholic counterparts, with the range encompassing: London Dry, Italian Aperitivo, Veneto Spritz, Tennessee Malt, Scottish Malt, Caribbean Blanco and Caribbean Spiced expressions. Each of these products will now be featured in a 700ml bottling.
The Shout spoke to Naked Life CEO and Founder, David Andrew, to discover the company’s motivation for moving into the full-bottle format.
“It’s something that’s always been on the cards for us, and we had a very deliberate strategy,” Andrew said.
“We wanted to start with RTDs first because it’s a very approachable way to consume our drink and consume a new category. We thought we’d start with that, get really going in mainstream channels, then we’d move into the spirits launch after that,” Andrew explained.
“On the back of that success – we’ve sold about 2.5 million cans in the past six months – we thought, now’s the time to launch our non-alcoholic spirits, because people know our brand now, and trust our taste.”
While this was a long term plan for Naked Life, Andrew concedes that Dry July sharpened the brand’s focus, saying: “It was [a factor in the decision] for our on-prem strategy.”
“A lot of the on-premise are dipping their toe in the waters with what a curated non-alcoholic drinks list could look like.”
And Andrew outlines how the brand is hoping to target both the retail, and on-premise, sides of the industry.
“We’ve got some great partners like the Sand Hill Road Group down in Victoria to start with, they’ve got some really marquee venues such as Garden State and Hotel Esplanade.”
“Our non-alc cocktails are doing very well across grocery and really driving some off-premise uptake. We wanted to be able to bring in spirits to have another offering,” Andrew added.
In all, Naked Life now has 15 RTD non-alcoholic cocktails, and seven non-alcoholic full bottle ‘spirits’. But as Andrew explains, there are signs of continuing product development, with a non-alcoholic Espresso Martini RTD slated for release in July.
Naked Life believes the company’s key point of difference is a focus on production techniques, and a healthier final product, as Andrew outlined in a press statement.
“We are incredibly proud to now offer what we see as the primary leading alternative to traditional spirits; refusing to compromise taste with non-alcoholic spirits crafted with real distilled botanicals and providing a healthier alternative with less than 33 calories per serve and no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.”
Finally, speaking again to The Shout, Andrew addressed a perceived reluctance amongst operators and retailers surrounding non-alcoholic products, saying: “I’m surprised with the hesitancy in the market.”
“It’s very much a ‘build it and they will come’ type of thing. A lot of the time with our consumers, they’re not necessarily going to give feedback, but they’ll just be a bit disappointed and won’t be on the front foot.
“I think there’s a real opportunity in the on and off-premise as well to get in front and give their customers something, as well as the higher retail purchase for what would otherwise be a soft drink,” Andrew concluded.