Can a gin-free cocktail really raise our spirits?
Glass act: sales of no- and low-alcohol drinks have nearly doubled in four years. Photograph: Dan Saelinger/trunkarchive.com
Glass act: sales of no- and low-alcohol drinks have nearly doubled in four years. Photograph: Dan Saelinger/trunkarchive.com
Despite what you might think (or practise), booze sales in the UK are falling fast, and more and more of us are turning to no-and-low alcohol drinks
Sun 21 Feb 2021 07.00 EST
Justin Hicklin is describing first meeting his business partner, back in 2019. “I did think, ‘Oh God, that chap off
Made in Chelsea.’ I was pleasantly surprised that he was charming and not at all a dick, as I was expecting.” Hicklin, 60, is a former advertising executive with the air of a man who happily admits he comes “from a generation that would go out three nights a week and down 10 pints and not think it unusual”. His business partner, Spencer Matthews, 32, the reality TV star, is sitting alo
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Lucky Saint, the alcohol-free beer brand, has just closed a £3.5 million fundraise from leaders across the FMCG and marketing industries. Its shareholders now include JamJar, the venture capital fund of the founders of Innocent Drinks; Warburtons chairman Jonathan Warburton; adam&eveDDB co-founders James Murphy and David Golding; Karmarama CEO Ben Bilboul; vice president of Facebook Northern Europe Steve Hatch; and Wahaca CEO and co-founder Mark Selby.
Since launching in 2018, Lucky Saint has become the biggest independently owned alcohol-free beer brand in the UK. The hugely successful 0.5% Superior Unfiltered Lager has seen exponential growth throughout 2020 with many Industry firsts: first alcohol-free producer to 1) launch across the UK on draught and 2) to join the British Beer & Pub Association in the organisation’s 116-year history.
Backers include Jonathan Warburton, chairman of bread dynasty Warburtons, who said founder Luke Boase impressed with his absolute conviction and exceptionally good quality product .