Gen X and subsequent ‘generations’ have proven to be full of surprises. They’re cooking more, eating fresher – and drinking less. That last point is causing something of an upheaval in the resto and bar world. Operators are rethinking their business models…
A selection of Mocktail versions of popular alcoholic drinks:
Increasingly popular with Gen Xers and subsequent Gens…
‘Cautious’ consumers
“They’re just a much more conscious consumer,” Marten Lodewijks, president of the beverage market data firm, IWSR, told Business Insider. “It’s not that they just don’t want to drink. They enjoy it, and they enjoy it as much as other generations. It’s just that they’re conscious that it’s not good for them, and so they don’t do it as frequently.”
That’s created a ‘split’ drinking population between traditional alcohol-consuming customers and younger folks. Which is causing bar and resto operators to rethink their menus. And their business models.
A form of bonding
A number of learned studies have discovered that drinking together is a form of bonding – among young and older folks alike.
“Laura Fenton, a research associate at the University of Sheffield’s School of Medicine and Population Health who studies youth drinking behavior, said the tension around talking about drinking likely stems from social expectations,” reports ABC News. “Even for Gen Z consumers, she said, ‘drinking together can be really important to friendship and to negotiating kind of a sense of belonging.'”
Denmark has one of the highest per-capita alcohol consumption rates in the world. The fact that, until recently, their legal drinking age was 16 may have something to do with it. But even with so many younger people free to partake, a new study shows they’re cutting back.
A delicate social dynamic
Heineken commissioned a survey asking American drinkers about their feelings when declining an alcoholic beverage. “Younger consumers [said] they feel more awkward than older consumers when explaining why they aren’t drinking,” ABC reports. “While an increasing percentage of Americans feel comfortable declining an alcoholic drink with a simple ‘no thanks’ (72 percent) or opting for a non-alcoholic alternative at parties (86 percent), only about half of Americans under 35 are comfortable drinking low or no-alcohol drinks in public.”
So, bar and resto proprietors also have to take that touchy social dynamic into account when rede-signing their operations.
Michelin-starred chef David Chang has called the decline in Gen Z’s drinking is a “real existential threat” to operations that serve alocohol.
Sober Bars a new ‘thing’
So-called ‘Sober Bars’ are cropping up all over the greater metropolitan around the Western World.
Eliott Edge, who runs Hekate, a New York City Sober Bar, told Business Insider, “every bar will have to expand its non-alcoholic offerings to stay competitive.”
My take
I think it’s probably a good thing, overall, that many bars and restos are elevating the status of mocktails in their establishments, from special requests to regular menu items.
I also think it’s a grand idea for party hosts to introduce the idea at their mixed-generation gath-erings. With that in mind, I suggest everyone take a gander at ‘Ideas For Mocktails‘ from the Derby Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service.
Their representative recipes demonstrate how classic alcoholic cocktails can be adapted to alcohol-free mocktails. For example, their non-alcoholic G&T (see photo, top of page) replicates the flavour and overall experience of the alcoholic version by incorporating cardamon, cucumber, camomile tea, mint, cloves and rosemary…
~ Maggie J.