Benefits of going alcohol-free
The booze ban boosted sales of alcohol-free drinks, but going ‘nolo’ has been a trend for some time thanks to its health benefits
BY NOW the booze ban feels like a bad dream for the many South Africans who can finally top up their favourite tipple pretty much any time they want to. No more rations, no more popping open the really bad stuff and no more wishing that glass of water was something stronger.
But for many the restrictions on alcohol sales and the resulting dry spell was a revelation. And plenty are following in the footsteps of those who’d discovered the benefits of going “nolo” long before lockdown level 5.
No or low-alcohol alternatives may have been novel for drinkers left high and dry in those early weeks but long before Covid-19 these drinks were becoming popular among the health-conscious.
In one report the BBC shows de-alcoholised or no-alcohol drinks soared by 30% since 2016, as 18- to 24-year-olds increasingly shun booze.
The demand for these drinks has also increased dramatically in South Africa over the past 12 to 18 months, according to Bonitha Malherbe, brand manager of the Van Loveren Wine Estate in Robertson in the Western Cape.
“We’re only just managing to keep up with demand,” she says.
Non-alcoholic beer too has seen a boom. “Sales have increased tenfold during the lockdown, says Pick n Pay spokesperson Janine Corodonna.
“Alcohol-free living is now an aspirational lifestyle choice in many countries – 52% of Americans are trying to drink less as more people begin to realise the damage alcohol does to our mental and physical wellbeing,” says Janet Gourand, founder of World without Wine, a Cape Town-based organisation that supports people trying to give up alcohol.
“Five years ago, when I gave up drinking, there was hardly any alternative to alcohol,” Janet says. “Now there are many delicious alcohol-free drinks available. The Mindful Drinking Festival in Cape Town last October had more than 40 choices on offer!
“Whether you ditch the drink entirely or just switch to alcohol-free drinks after reaching the recommended safe limit – one and a half bottles of wine a week – this could be time for a healthy start!”
THERE’S a legal limit classifying a drink as alcoholic or non-alcoholic, says Maija-Liina Hansen-Chipps from Distell, which produces non-alcoholic Savanna cider. “A drink is classified alcohol-free when it contains less than 0,05% per volume alcohol. A non-alcoholic drink is when the alcohol content is less than 0,5% per volume,” she explains. “We create a non-alcoholic drink by putting the regular [alcoholic] Savanna cider through a process to remove the alcohol until there’s only 0,3% left.” You would need to drink 20 of these non-alcoholic ciders to reach the legal blood alcohol limit, according to Business Insider. Alcohol-free and non-alcoholic (or de-alcoholised) drinks are legislated in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act.
“There’s no requirement to indicate the percentage of alcohol in non-alcoholic drinks on the packaging but we do because we believe it’s important that consumers are informed and understand what they’re drinking. Whether it’s safe to consume for those who are alcoholics isn’t for us to decide,” Maija-Liina says.
Though non-alcoholic Savanna has been popular since its debut last year, Distell noted a dramatic increase in sales over the past two months. “Our sales quadrupled during lockdown.”
Johannes le Roux and Inus Smit from Cape Town started their alcohol-free gin and tonic The Duchess in 2016 and are now exporting to countries such as the Netherlands, Australia and Belgium.
But due to high local demand caused by the lockdown, they’ve been selling stock here that was meant for export. “We had quite a bit of stock before lockdown but that’s nearly sold out. We’re starting up production and will soon have another 20 000 cases available,” Johannes says.
Booze might be back on the menu – but for many, drinking will be something entirely different from now on.
‘Alcohol-free living is now an aspirational lifestyle choice in many countries’