Brewing behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev wants hardcore beer connoisseurs to know non-alcoholic drinkers are no social misfits—they’re just like you and me.
The world’s largest purveyor of the frosty suds, with $60 billion in annual revenue across its portfolio, wants to position its zero-alcohol range as a healthy, low-calorie drink.
Key to the message is the fact the products are made with nutritious ingredients like malted barley that can be enjoyed without needing an occasion—every bit a daily staple for adults as soda pop is for many kids.
And what better brand to remove the pervasive social stigma among traditional drinkers than Corona: it is ABI’s fastest growing premium import brand, widely available across Europe’s otherwise fragmented market and, crucially, one of the rare lagers that appeals to men and women alike.
“No-alcohol beers play a very important role because people can drink the beers that they love from the brands that they love in more occasions without compromising,” CEO Michel Doukeris told reporters during a recent visit to its brewery in Leuven, Belgium, home to the company’s 600-year-old Stella Artois brand.
ABI is reacting to the recent trend in health and wellness that has seen popularity of zero alcohol beer grow steadily—albeit from a very low base. Currently the category is worth roughly $8 billion in revenue, according to ABI, or less than 2% of the global market, so there’s plenty of upside (ABI won’t break out its own specific company figures).
While an upstart like Athletic Brewing Co. is small enough to prosper by only catering to the non-alc audience, ABI is far too large with 20 breweries in Europe alone, all of which should generate a return on investment.
Leuven, for example, brews 10 million hectoliters of beer over a surface area equivalent to 30 soccer fields, making it Europe’s largest. To put that size into perspective, were it to convert all its lines that produce Stella Artois, Jupiler, Leffe, Budweiser and Corona to their equivalent non-alcoholic versions it would cover nearly a third of total global demand for all zero alcohol beers, according to statistics from industry research firm IWSR.
Drinkers want non-alc versions of their favorite beer, not O'Doul's
ABI thus needs volume at scale, something only possible if the company can remove the stigma mainly associated with its bland taste and non-existent aroma, a byproduct of the conventional distillation process that relied on evaporation.
This is where Corona Cero, the non-alc version of the Mexican lager, comes into play. The broad appeal of the golden-hued beer, known for often served with a wedge of lime, makes it ideally suited to reach the largest number of consumers possible.
ABI has now made what it calls a "significant" investment to become worldwide partner with the International Olympic Committee, with Corona Cero leading the company’s promotional efforts for this summer’s Paris games.
Beyond the obvious attempt to closely associate the thrills from one of sporting’s biggest stages with the consumption of its own products, Doukeris readily admits he’s a huge fan: “I’m half-Greek, so I love the Olympics.”
The costly sponsorship signals ABI’s ongoing push to move away from once relying on a dedicated non-alc brand O’Douls to serve the category. In 2018, the company set up a team tasked with expanding its offering, believing the group’s core consumers would only deign touch a non-alc beer if it’s produced from their favorite brand.
Management wants to send the message that a 33 cl bottle, roughly the size of a can, of Corona Cero only represents 56 calories and comes with no artificial ingredients or flavorings. The key to effectively rebranding it as “adult refreshment” therefore is improving the taste through a completely overhaul of the brewing process.
Scientists search for ways to preserve taste and aroma
For example, one new form of distillation significantly reduces the boiling point of the beverage by placing the brew under a vacuum, because a previous method of evaporation often led to too much heat resulting in burnt notes.
Another past technique created a product that was too sweet, because the fermentation had to be halted before active yeast organisms could convert too many of the sugary starches in the mash of malted barley, hops and water into ethanol.
“There shouldn’t be any lingering bitterness, harshness or sweetness,” explained Peter Kraemer, a fifth-generation brewmaster who served as ABI’s chief supply officer until his retirement in January. “The flavor should fill your mouth fast, and then immediately disappear.”
That however still leaves the problem of the aroma, which would typically be lost when the alcohol evaporated.
While the new vacuum distillation process is far better at retaining the 250 various chemical markers known as esters that create a beer’s scent, non-alc beers do not smell the same. That is because compounds like isoamyl acetate dissolve differently depending on whether alcohol is present.
So scientists at the company began analyzing what combination of esters gave a specific beer its unique bouquet, and then varied their concentrations in an attempt to arrive at something roughly equivalent to a Corona or Stella Artois.
“That was the secret: to figure out what that is and recreate an actual beer aroma without alcohol present,” explained Kraemer, who started his career at Anheuser-Busch 35 years ago by helping improve its newly launched O’Doul’s. “It had to be different just to be the same.”
Only a minority of non-alc volumes cannibalize beer sales
Studies suggest consumers are taking the bait. Nearly nine in 10 non-alc beer drinkers are reaching for the option simply to moderate their intake of alcohol. The best part is business overall is benefiting as only 40% of the volumes sold cannibalize beer sales, according to ABI. The other 60% is incremental, because adults are finding now no longer need an excuse to drink one.
Governments are generally in favor because non-alc beer improves public health and, provided nothing extra is added, it’s a better choice for the growing number of Americans suffering from diabetes. The liver no longer needs to stop regulating blood sugar levels temporarily in order to metabolize alcohol.
Lastly, the ethnanol extracted in the distillation process doesn’t even go to waste. ABI sells the byproduct on to energy companies for blending into fuels like gasoline.
Doukeris, who has had to weather a storm last year after a promotional post with a transgender influencer triggered a massive backlash against Bud Light, believes moderating one’s alcohol intake could just end up being a net positive—both for ABI’s sales and its image.
“With everything that’s going on, it’s always good when people can get together, talk to each other, find a common ground and reasons to raise a glass,” he said.
