Although different types of alcohol are usually the main topic of discussion, it’s worth diving into the world of non-alcoholic beverages. Building a solid non-alcoholic drinks menu can make your business truly successful. If you are currently building your beverage program and deciding on what to include in your offers, this guide will help you!
How Low and Non-Alcoholic Drinks Are Changing the Industry
Wellness drinks, as well as other unique drinks like matcha teas, specialty coffee with plant-based milk, and even CBD-infused drinks, are becoming increasingly popular. All that is for a great reason.
All of these, and other non-alcoholic beverages are generally healthier and don’t cause hangovers, and other side effects to people. Now, when more people are trying to lead a healthier lifestyle, these drinks are taking the scene.
Let’s learn more about them and see what you should include in your non-alcoholic drinks menu to increase both customer satisfaction and your bar profit.
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What Is a Low-Alcohol Drink?
Low-alcohol drinks have a lower ABV - between 0.5% and 1.2%. Beer is typically between 5% and 6%, for example. That’s why people who are drinking beer will feel a big difference once they try a low-alcohol beer or other drinks. Tap beer, as well as gluten-free beer, and regular beer have similar percentages of alcohol. That’s true even when the beer brands are different.
What Is a Non-Alcoholic Drink?
Non-alcoholic drinks don’t have any alcohol in them, as the name suggests. Low-alcohol cocktails, on the other hand, have some small amount of alcohol in them. These drinks can be beers and wines in which alcohol was removed or juices, smoothies, and coffee drinks, or the increasingly popular mocktails.
Mocktails are made without the use of well-known base spirits (whiskey, gin, tequila, rum, and vodka) but with alcohol-free alternatives. There are even aperitifs and bitters with 0% alcohol, which can be used to make non-alcoholic drinks.
What Are Botanical Beverages?
Botanical beverages are made of plant-derived ingredients. They typically are vegetable and fruit extracts, as well as spices, and teas. The businesses making botanical drinks use different methods to achieve unique flavors. Some of them use distillation, while others use compounding.
What Is the Taste of Non-Alcoholic Spirits?
Non-alcoholic drinks that imitate alcoholic beverages do not taste the same way. Similar to vegan drinks, they are close in taste but not the same as coffee drinks with cow’s milk, for example.
How to Store Non-Alcoholic Spirits?
Use the same beverage storage for both your alcoholic and non-alcoholic spirits. They can all be stored on a regular bar shelf, as long as they are not hit with direct sunlight. To be sure they are all good to consume, learn about alcohol expiration and temperature-controlled storage.
How Is the Industry Affected by Non-Alcoholic Drinks?
Businesses in the hospitality industry need to adapt. It’s not all about classic liquors and great cocktails anymore.
Bar and restaurant owners need to consider adding gluten-free beverages to their non-alcoholic drinks menu. Vegan non-alcoholic drinks, CBD drinks, and more. This is a sure way to improve customer experience nowadays.
How to Keep the Beverage Inventory in Check?
Today, when things are changing and evolving faster than ever, it’s crucial to stay on top of your beverage inventory. A beverage inventory software program is what you need to make it all easier for you and avoid human errors. You can even notice trends, handle invoicing and ordering, and so much more!
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Benefits of Serving Alcohol-Free Drinks at Restaurants
Today’s customers are looking for new adventures and exciting things to try. Many of them are no longer looking for what they know and love but something unique. That’s why you should not be afraid of experimentation and trying out new things.
Why Do You Need a Non-Alcoholic Drinks Menu
If you are a business owner with a bar or a restaurant and are looking for ideas, consider creating or expanding your non-alcoholic drinks menu. Here’s why!
1. Health and wellness - People becoming more health-conscious lately, but still want to socialize and enjoy a nice fine dining experience or a casual brunch. Many of these people avoid alcohol either because of the side effects or the higher calorie count.
2. Personal preference - Not everyone is avoiding alcohol for health reasons. Some simply don’t like the taste of it but still would like to enjoy a fancy drink with friends.
3. Designated drivers - It’s important to have a variety of offers on your non-alcoholic drinks menu because some people prefer to drive back home themselves instead of taking an Uber.
4. Religious and cultural differences - Customers can be avoiding alcohol for religious and cultural reasons, too. These groups of people will appreciate the non-alcoholic drinks menu in your restaurant and will likely enjoy your signature mocktails a lot more than your signature cocktail.
How Your Business Will Benefit From a Non-Alcoholic Drinks Menu
Offering a wider variety of drinks is not only going to improve people’s experience in your restaurant. You, as a business, will also reap great benefits, which include:
- Catering to a wider range of customers - As mentioned already, there are religious people, health-conscious people, designated drivers, and people who just don’t enjoy alcohol. Catering to these groups of people will bring more customers to your business and everyone who had a nice experience will likely recommend it to their friends.
- Increasing profits and revenue - The offers on a non-alcoholic drinks menu have a high-profit margin, which is a great benefit for any business. By offering various unique non-alcoholic drinks, you will tap into a new revenue stream and increase overall sales.
- Improving food and drink pairing options - Craft beer and food and wine pairings are great but what about non-alcoholic drinks and food? The latter can be paired with different meals well, too. From tea pairing to infused waters and trendy mocktails, there are lots of options you can serve. Great food and beverage pairings will even help you with restaurant marketing.
Create Non-Alcoholic Drink and Food Pairings
There are different popular dietary plans people follow nowadays. From keto and gluten-free to paleo and vegan - they all fit different lifestyles and offer a range of benefits.
This can pose some challenges to restaurant owners and managers, but can also be seen as an opportunity. You can improve the restaurant profit margin significantly if you follow some of these tips!
Create a Non-Alcoholic Drinks Menu to Go Well With Your Dishes
To build a great menu is needed extensive planning. Figure out the concept of your restaurant and which would be your signature dishes. Food is a huge part of any restaurant business so you need to have this planned out first.
Once you complete the food menu engineering and design, move on to planning the restaurant beverage inventory. Begin with the must-haves - regular beer, different varieties of wine, best bar cocktails, and soft drinks. When you complete this step, it’s time to think about the non-alcoholic drinks menu.
- Don’t make too many specials - Think from the perspective of the consumer. If you are tired after a long day, you would want to enjoy a drink and not be confused by having too many options. Choose a few mocktails and other special non-alcoholic drinks to add to your menu and stick with them.
- Gather feedback - Once you add new drinks, always make sure you gather feedback from your customers. Speak with the waiters and bar staff to pay attention to what people prefer the most.
- Always keep the food in mind - Whether your main focus is seafood dishes or different types of pasta, the drinks menu needs to correspond to the food you are serving. Don’t add trendy beverages to your offers if they won’t go well with the food.
Everything You Need to Know About Non-Alcoholic Wine
Adding new drinks to your menu should not be done spontaneously. Any beverage program needs to be thought out well and matched well with the food being served at the restaurant.
Think about your customers, too. What they would like to see on your non-alcoholic drinks menu? Wne lists are typically filled with alcoholic options but why not expand it with some non-alcoholic wine?
How Is Non-Alcoholic Wine Produced?
Non-alcoholic wine is made just like regular types of wine are. The difference is in the last step of the process. For non-alcoholic wines, the last step is removing the alcohol from the wine. Typically, this is done via vacuum distillation.
What’s the ABV in Non-Alcoholic Wines?
The ABV of regular wine is between 11 and 13%. Non-alcoholic wine, on the other hand, has an ABV of 0%.
What Are the Benefits of Drinking Non-Alcoholic Wine?
Lots of people know there are benefits of drinking wine. Many of them even consume it regularly not just for the joy of it but for the benefits as well.
The health benefits of drinking non-alcoholic wine do not differ much. Non-alcoholic wine is said to improve heart health, reduce risk of depression, and more. It even has fewer calories (see: calories in a bottle of wine).
Does Anyone Make Vegan Non-Alcoholic Wine?
Vegan wine can be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The label needs to clearly state that no animal products are used in the process of making the wine and whether or not it has any alcohol contents.
Does Anyone Make Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine?
Non-alcoholic sparkling wines and champagnes are more popular, too. They are as refreshing and crisp as their alcoholic counterparts.
What You Need to Know About Non-Alcoholic Beer
Non-alcoholic beer also deserves a place on your non-alcoholic drinks menu. But before you order any bottles, let’s see what you need to know about it!
What Is Non-Alcoholic Beer?
Non-alcoholic beer has very low amounts of alcohol in it. The majority of the countries require having less than 0.5% ABV to label the beer as “alcohol-free.”
How Is Non-Alcoholic Beer Made?
Regular beer and non-alcoholic beer are brewed in the same way. The only difference is that there’s a process to reduce the alcohol amounts once the beer is made.
What People Drink Alcohol-Free Beer?
The main reason people turn to non-alcoholic beer instead of regular kinds is health reasons. That’s why as a restaurant owner, you need to stock up on a variety of beers, including non-alcoholic types.
Non-alcoholic beer also has fewer calories, which is important for people who are following a diet or watching their calorie intake. Pregnancy, as well as other situations, may require people to avoid drinking beer with alcohol, too.
What Variety Can You Choose From
Lately, more breweries are starting to make non-alcoholic beer. This is due to the rising demand for this type of beverage. That’s why you can easily add new options to your non-alcoholic drinks menu.
Non-alcoholic beer is available in different flavors, styles, as well as from different brands. These could be well-known commercial brands or brands making unique craft beers. As a business owner in the hospitality industry, take advantage of this and consider offering craft beer and food pairings.
Why Should I Have Non-Alcoholic Beer on My Menu?
With the growing and changing market, restaurants need to adapt quickly and provide a variety of drinks. This way you can ensure customer satisfaction, as well as enhance customer service. Beautiful interiors and great glassware won’t cut it. You need to give people what they want to eat and drink!
- Customer demand - Giving people what they are looking for is very important. The demand for non-alcoholic drinks is increasing and your business needs to hop on the bandwagon as soon as possible. This way you will satisfy your customers while increasing sales and successfully growing your business.
- Increased revenue - As already mentioned, when you have a diverse non-alcoholic drinks menu and you give people what they want, you will see an increase in revenue. You can use non-alcoholic beverages in your restaurant marketing campaigns. But even if you don’t do that, people like hearing word-of-mouth recommendations.
- Improving the dining experience - Having different beer types on your menu will allow people to enjoy a lot more great meal and drink pairings. Beer food pairings may not be as popular as the common wine pairing options but they are not to be underestimated.
- Promoting responsible drinking - Having a well-curated non-alcoholic drinks menu will promote responsible drinking. It’s a great way to support people who are choosing to consume less or no alcohol at all and make them feel good that they chose your restaurant for their meal.
Make It All Easier with BinWise Pro!
Adding new items to your menu always has its challenges but with BinWise Pro the process will be much smoother. You can order, count, handle invoicing, and even analyze customer behaviors with the help of our software.
Book a demo now to find out more!