Time.news – They are going strong, very strong indeed. These are the so-called de-alcoholic drinks, which can easily be considered as the phenomenon of the moment among the very young. And, according to the Iwsr, the London-based institute specializing in market analysis, de-alcoholic beverages, which are also called “no / low alcohol”, have a value equal to 3.5% of the total volumes of alcoholic beverages that they are consumed in markets considered top. Such as French, German, Spanish, English, American, Canadian, South African, Japanese and Australian. Last year, 2021, the increase even reached the ceiling of 6% while up to 2025 an increasing rate of 8% for each year is assumed for them..
This, perhaps, also due to the many municipal and citizen measures that have limited the sale of alcohol in certain places and at certain times of the evening, with an exquisitely anti-nightlife function: in historic centers as in the squares of cities, large or small. that they are. However, it is estimated that the turnover of soft drinks is now just under 10 billion US dollars, compared to 7.8 billion in 2018.
And there are those who describe a picture in which many large brands and multinationals of spirits, wine, beer are reconverting and investing substantial resources and carefully observing the trend to understand what diffusion it can achieve in the future. And, above all, whether the segment can be a complement to the main brand or whether it is better to create brands dedicated only to alcoholics.
Commercial feasibility studies. So much so that even alcohol-free wines, according to Wine Intelligence, will be one of the sure trends of the near future. In Spain, for example, the Ministry of Health has decided to finance the research of this specific trend while the European Union proposes to regularize its production. There is also talk of alcohol-free or low-alcohol wines.
As for the process, dealcoholization is a process through which it is possible to extract alcohol from alcoholic beverages, including wine. It can be practiced by partial evaporation, distillation or osmosis, under very delicate conditions of pressure and temperatures. The only real risk, if anything, is that of making the wine lose its natural organoleptic properties. However, over time, techniques and machinery have greatly improved, making it possible to carry out less harsh and invasive interventions, which only affect ethanol, but not tastes and aromas.
Last June, for example, the European Commission presented its proposal to amend regulation no. 1308/2013, which governs the CAP. In article 193, the terms “dealcoholised wine” (with an alcohol content not exceeding 0.5% vol.) And “partially dealcoholised wine” (with an alcohol content between 0.5% and 9%) appear. A beginning, even if it is the trend in and of itself, which sees 43% of habitual consumers progressively replace alcoholic products with alcohol-free or low-alcohol products on certain occasions.
And, among the latter, less than one in five completely avoids alcohol, according to Iwsr’s calculations.