Back in 2024, after a reporting trip for a whiskey magazine, I got tired of drinking. Perhaps it was the sluggishness I felt each morning, or maybe it was the podcast I'd heard while traveling, which shared the news that one or two glasses of red wine was not, as we had long been told, healthy. Whatever the reason, I tossed in the daily drinking towel after that trip, figuring that going forward, I might only have a drink or two every now and again.
Today, people generally seek balance when pursuing their personalized wellness goals in a new year. That shift has made way for trends like "Damp January," which encourages creating more mindful drinking habits. With this evolution, brands in the nonalcoholic beverage space are fine-tuning their marketing campaigns to reflect year-round interest in alcohol moderation. By using cheerleading-like marketing language over a shameful tone, brands hope customers will feel more receptive to incorporating their beverages. And with more products entering the market - which now also includes functional drinks and cannabis tonics - these companies are stepping up their marketing spending to broaden their target audience.