Perth man opens WA’s first non-alcoholic bottle shop as demand for non-alcoholic beverages soars

A Perth man has just opened the state’s first soft drink bottle shop to meet the explosive demand for soft drinks.

Adrian Allier, owner of Free Spirit Drink Co in Applecross, acknowledged his company might seem a little “crazy” but said after looking into the industry there was an obvious gap in the market.

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“We could see that it was still in its infancy and people were starting to change their ideas about drinking and start looking for non-alcoholic options,” Allier said.

Since non-alcoholic beer has long lacked taste, Allier said brewers and winemakers have started spending “real money” to make it tasty.

“It’s not so much that people have now made the choice not to drink, but now they have an option,” Allier said.

“They’re starting to realize, ‘great, we can go out, we can have a drink, we can socialize,’ and there’s no fear for the feeling that they need to drink, especially in the summer season.

“Now they can choose a non-alcoholic option and still enjoy the convivial side of Christmas and beyond.”

Another non-alcoholic bottle shop may be open in WA for what Allier is calling the industry’s Christmas, Dry July.

And there’s an obvious thirst to be quenched here, as the market value of non- and low-alcohol products is set to surpass $11 billion in 2022, according to the IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

That number is up from $8 billion in 2018.

“As more and more people choose to avoid or eliminate alcohol on certain occasions, the proportion of non-alcoholic alcohol is steadily increasing,” said Susie Goldspink, director of No and Low Alcohol at IWSR.