At the start of the new year, some Americans are corking their bottles and opting to participate in “Dry January,” a month-long sobriety challenge that’s recently risen in popularity as a new year’s resolution. This year, about 27 percent of adults in the United States said they were “very likely” to participate in Dry January, according to data from Civic Science.
But a rise in Atlanta’s nonalcoholic retail scene aims to provide zero-proof drinks to people year-round.
The popularity of Dry January comes with the growing popularity of the “zero-proof” industry, a market of nonalcoholic beverages that passed $11 billion in sales in 2022.
The city’s first nonalcoholic bottle shop, The Zero Co., opened up in Poncey-Highland in December 2022. Owners Malory and Cory Atkinson launched nearby small-batch liquor store Elemental Spirits Co. in 2020 with a small selection of zero-proof options but decided the products deserved their own space.
Malory Atkinson recognized the need for a nonalcoholic bottle shop after a pregnancy with her husband, Cory, and a bout of cancer. Elemental Spirits Co. leaned heavily into nonalcoholic products to match a growing personal and industry-wide alternative for alcohol.
But the selection in Elemental Spirits Co. wasn’t enough for the couple. They wanted to let the zero-proof products stand on their own.
“We recognized, having elemental, that not everybody felt comfortable coming into a liquor store to purchase a nonalcoholic product,” Atkinson said.
They stocked the shelves of The Zero Co. with a variety of zero-proof products like tequila, canned mocktails, wines and popular drinks like Ghia, a spirit-free apéritif inspired by Mediterranean aperitivo culture.
The Zero Co. opened its doors in time for Dry January 2023 to match the influx of people quitting alcohol for the month. It was a risk, Atkinson said, since it was the first business of its kind in Atlanta.
Then, months later, Sober-ish opened in Kirkwood with a wide zero-proof selection. The retail space owned by full-time attorney Mehrnush Sadat is also a cannabis boutique.
Sadat decided to open up Sober-ish just over a year ago when a sober friend brought over a bottle of a Delta-9 spirit for New Year’s Eve. The drink used Delta-9, a legal chemical found in cannabis and hemp plants that has a similar intoxicating effect to THC.
“I knew that the nonalcoholic industry was on the rise, but seeing this really beautiful feminine bottle and kind of just seeing there were alternatives to alcohol while still creating a relaxing effect was really interesting to me,” Sadat said.
The entrepreneur decided to combine a zero-proof bottle shop with an elevated headshop, something she had never seen done before. Most cannabis-oriented stores, Sadat explained, are tie-dye heavy head shops or more sterile medical cannabis sites.
“I wanted to create an environment where whether people are exploring not drinking or whether people are exploring cannabis, they have options in a very elevated setting and a very adult-like setting,” Sadat said.
She hopes the space will introduce customers to a variety of products that can be used in social settings, whether that’s mocktails or cannabis. Sadat had never owned a bottle shop before, but she was “very meticulous” in choosing products to feature at Sober-ish.
Sadat said the zero-proof beverages were easier to select since the industry is still on the smaller side. For cannabis products, she prioritized chemical-free options with natural sweeteners, as well as cute packaging that fit the shop’s curated aesthetic.
Both Sober-ish and The Zero Co. aim to take down the stigma around sobriety and nonalcoholic options, but the business owners are clear that the shops are for everyone, sober or not. Neither Atkinson nor Sadat are sober themselves.
“We really want it to be for everybody,” Atkinson said. “We want it to be a safe space.”
But not everybody is familiar with the nonalcoholic landscape. Since it’s a newer industry, Atkinson said education is the biggest challenge.
“We were kind of surprised at just the customer, how much the customer needs education because this is such a new space and because they have had bad experiences where they ordered a bunch of stuff online,” Atkinson said.
Many customers don’t know where to start when they come into The Zero Co. Unlike a typical bottle shop, where shoppers typically have an idea of what they want, staff has to figure out individual approaches to each person’s needs.
Atkinson said the team first asks, “What are you going to do with this?” to see how someone will approach a product. For somebody who does drink, she’s keen to recommend a botanical spirit instead of a tequila substitute. Other customers might not want to be reminded of alcohol at all.
Sadat said that awareness around alcohol alternatives has increased a lot in the past year, but she still sees hesitancy around customers who don’t know what the drinks will taste like. She looks at a “learning curve” approach, introducing people to easier pop-top drinks to keep them from getting overwhelmed. The owner does the same with cannabis products.
“People need to really understand what they’re buying and why your product is better than the one next door or at the vape shop next to the gas station,” Sadat said. “Not only is it the quality of the product, but it’s the education.
Both businesses also offer weekend tastings. The Zero Co. runs monthly mocktail classes, too, teaching people how to build a drink from the bottom up.
“We come at it from a culture of people who like to imbibe and drink, and they’re looking for that same experience but with nonalcoholic products,” Atkinson said.
As alcohol-free drinks gain popularity, both business owners hope the social stigma around drinking will wear off. Sadat said there’s often “psychological peer pressure” to get a drink when everyone around you has one.
Atkinson sees Dry January as a “pass” to opt out of alcohol so people can “speak their truth that they don’t necessarily want to drink all the time.”
In the future, she hopes zero-proof cocktails will be popular enough to make it on restaurant and bar menus rather than leaving sober customers with club soda or lemonade options. Both Sober-ish and The Zero Co. have started partnering with Atlanta restaurants to curate a nonalcoholic bar or find good food and drink pairings year round.
“It doesn’t just have to be in Dry January,” Atkinson said. “We should feel comfortable being like, I’m not gonna drink tonight, and but I’m still gonna, but I’m still gonna be social, I’m still gonna go out to eat, I’m still gonna be with my friends.”
