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Nonalcoholic tequila is finally good. Here are 6 worth tr...
Washington Post
·
Jul 7, 2022
In my younger days, I thought the purpose of tequila was to get hammered under the hot summer sun. Boisterous sidewalk br...
Opportunity
Consumers are drinking less alcohol; more cocktails
Enter: Free Spirits, leading the fastest-growing segment of the global drinks market
Younger generations are drinking at significantly lower rates than generations before them. And in this quest for moderation, they prefer spirits over beer & wine when 'drinking'.
www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-drag-down-beer-sales-2018-2
This paradoxical desire of people to moderate their alcohol intake while still socializing and relaxing with exciting, complex spirit-focused cocktails has lead to the fastest growing segment of the global beverage market: NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS which is growing at over 100% YoY in a No & Low Alcohol market now worth $2bn in the US.
Concept
More of the cocktails we love
Less of the crushing regret of too much alcohol.
Here's the thing: we're not teetotalers here at The Free Spirits Company. Many of us still decide to drink alcohol. But since we brought Free Spirits into the world, we now have the ability to drink less alcohol without sacrificing the quality or quantity of the cocktails we drink.
How? Maybe we're drinking a full-strength Margarita and follow it up with a Free Spirited Margarita, in which the Tequila is replaced with The Spirit of Tequila (what we call our NA Tequila). Or maybe all night, we decide to drink half-strength Margaritas made with a split recipe of 50% Spirit of Tequila and 50% one of our boozy cousins.
In any case, we're getting the full flavored, exciting cocktail experience, just with control over how much alcohol we consume in the process.
Important to our approach is that we model our non-alcoholic expressions after the spirits the world already loves. This way, they fit right into the cocktails people already know and love. This opens up a $200bn market for the brand in which to participate and grow!
Product
Four award-winning expressions
and an exciting pipeline of new products
Free Spirits are award-winning, clean spirits, crafted for a healthier lifestyle without compromise.
Our current expressions
The Spirit of Bourbon, a rich, oaky, caramel-kissed non-alcoholic alternative to a great Kentucky Bourbon, is made with all-natural, functional ingredients to awaken your taste buds, elevate your mood and recharge your body. With an oaky-vanilla nose, followed by a velvety-smooth, malty, brown sugary palate, The Spirit of Bourbon is the heart and soul of your favorite cocktail.
The Spirit of Gin, a smooth, bright, and floral non-alcoholic alternative to a Premium Dry Gin is made with all-natural and functional ingredients to awaken your taste buds, elevate your mood and recharge your body. With the fresh nose of juniper, followed by notes of citrus, coriander, and cardamom, The Spirit of Gin never fails to excite and refresh.
The Spirit of Tequila, a fiery, earthy non-alcoholic alternative to Tequila or Mezcal, is made with all-natural and functional ingredients to awaken your taste buds, elevate your mood and recharge your body. With an earthy, spicy nose and a smoky, agave-forward palate, The Spirit of Tequila will ignite the moment and keep the conversation on the sunny side of the street.
The Spirit of Milano is our homage to the great Italian Aperitivos of the world like Campari and Aperol. The Spirit of Milano embodies a perfectly balanced bitter and sweet experience that is made for Negronis and poolside spritzes. Led by bitter orange and sun-ripened fruit, this expression is supported by notes of cinnamon, clove, and rhubarb, delivering a complex, bold sensorial experience.
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A roadmap of new expressions and form factors
Investment is largely focused on distribution, inventory and adding exciting new products to our family. Our approach to new expressions is to look at trending cocktails and work backward to develop non-alcoholic expressions of the spirits needed to make them. We're currently working on a half dozen new expressions, in addition to some exciting new packaging that enables on-the-go cocktails.
Free Spirits are for those of us who love an evening of great cocktails, but don’t want everything that alcohol brings to the party.
Each spirit is crafted by a process we call Distillate Reconstruction wherein we deconstruct a traditional spirit by identifying all of the raw materials, the interactions, and the alchemy that gives its unique flavor profile. Then we reconstruct that spirit — using botanicals, real food extracts, and equally complex alchemy that marries ingredients and flavors together to form something much bigger than the sum of its parts.
And, instead of a fermentation process that generates alcohol, we infuse the source liquid with B Vitamins and Amino Acids that help elevate your mood, the social experience, and your spirit.
Traction
Growing at 350%
YoY since inception
On track for $3 million in 2022 revenue*
National distribution agreements in place to further accelerate growth
* Click here for important information regarding Financial Projections which are not guaranteed.
From 70 test stores in 2021 to all 250+ Total Wine & More in 2022
125+ HyVee Locations
100+ Safeway / Albertsons Locations
- Hundreds of independent bottle shops & retailers
Large, national distribution partners
Strong brand recognition & highly-engaged community
The Free Spirits brand attracts significant earned media coverage
"Missing a good old fashion? Free Spirits' take on bourbon has the rich, oaky taste that you know and love. The alternative alcohol also features hints of caramel and a malty, brown sugar finish."
People.com: A Guide to Some of the Best Non-Alcoholic Beverages
"One of the few no-ABV spirits to nail that burn in the throat, Free Spirits’ approximation of reposado tequila is surprisingly successful and a serious delight to sip — though it’s been specifically designed to mix well in a margarita."
LA Times: We tasted 14 nonalcoholic wines and spirits. Here's what you should try
"Of all the gin alternatives available now, this version from Free Spirits in California may be my personal favorite. There’s crisp juniper here and a touch of citrus-pith bitterness, plus a masterful bit of spice that warms your tongue as you sip."
Epicurious.com: Nonalcoholic Spirits for Your Bar: 45 Bottles for Any Break From Drinking
"A Negroni or an aperol spritz are among my favorite summer cocktails because they’re refreshing, but also because if I close my eyes and concentrate really hard, I can pretend I am in Florence. But sometimes, I want the fantasy without the alcohol.
Free Spirits The Spirit of Milano is herby and citrusy, with just the right amount of bitter and a bit of red pepper, which gives it the warming sensation you get when you drink alcohol."
Consumer Reports: Alcohol-Free Cocktails, Sesame Milk, and 4 Other Food Trends to Look For
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Adoption by mixologists, and presence in
opinion-forming on-premise accounts
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Growing and highly engaged social community
Customers
Free Spirits
For those who SHINE
Most of what you need to know about our brand and our customers is conveyed in our name: FREE SPIRITS We are of, by & for those who refuse to follow convention; those who work, everyday, to shine their individuality and their creativity across our world.
So, er, "free spirits" huh? Say more words about who these people are and what the market potential is?
Sure, sure. There are two general camps of Free Spirits customers:
As we established above, Millennial and Generation Z audiences are drinking alcohol at significantly lower rates than generations before them yet they are still willing to pay for premium cocktail experiences. What's more, older audiences have also turned to Free Spirits after, many times, decades of drinking too much alcohol when, all-the-while, it wasn't the alcohol they were after but delicious, exciting cocktail experiences.
This combined market is currently over 190,000,000 US adults, around 80,000,000 of which (via IWSR) are already modeled as purchasers of non-alcoholic adult beverages.
Free Spirits satisfies the desires of both the no and low alcohol consumer.
IWSR No- and Low-Alcohol Strategic Study 2022
It is our intention to be the leading brand of Non-Alcoholic Spirits as this category moves from early adopters to mainstream.
Business model
Multiple revenue streams
We have a very unique, advantageous business model that delivers margin, customer loyalty and cashflow:
Overall, our gross margins are north of 60% and this unique business model opens the opportunity to turn profitable sooner than a business with the burden of regulation. We anticipate 2024/5 to be our break-even/profit year based on current projections.
Lastly, this model makes The Free Spirits Company a very attractive acquisition target to many strategic alcohol companies.
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Robust ecommerce business with
industry-leading metrics and healthy margins
Market
Growing market
No & Low Alcohol segment currently at $2bn in the US with NA Spirits growing fastest at >100% YoY.
IWSR No- and Low-Alcohol Strategic Study 2022
Increased interest in the no/low* segments led to significant growth in 2021, with an increasing share of the total market, driven by health and wellness trends.
- Following the excessive over-purchasing of alcohol during the early stages of the pandemic, the moderation trend became more significant.
- While both no-and low-alcohol segments are developed, no-alcohol growth outpaced low.
- Both the on-and off-trade are dedicating more space to no/low products. Ecommerce is a natural fit for no-alcohol products due to the lack of D2C restrictions.
- As the no/low market is becoming more mainstream, it's more accepted and understood, prompting trial.
- While the Abstainer segment was previously the dominant cohort, the rise in the sober-curious consumer has been significant. Regular drinkers have also put more focus on moderation, by opting for a no/low-alcohol product as a replacement on certain occasions.
Competition
Free Spirits provides a full-sensorial cocktail experience
Each of the Free Spirits expressions is crafted to address the FIVE critical elements of a cocktail:
Nose | Taste | Mouthfeel | Burn | Function
 |  |  | |
Can be used to make non-alcoholic cocktails | x | x | x |
Modeled after already loved spirts and mixes into existing/popular cocktails | x | x | |
Replicates the warming 'burn' of alcohol | x | ||
Has functional mood-lifting vitamins | x | ||
Made in the USA | x |
Vision and strategy
We envision a safer, healthier world, without compromising the finer things in life
There's no need to compromise between a fulfilling, exciting social life and a healthy, productive life-life. To make this possible, we aim to make Free Spirits available everywhere alcohol is sold. Here's how.
1.
Scale relationships with national distributors;
add new states, chains + large scale product tastings
Large-scale sampling programs & trade marketing
2.
Scale digital & DTC program,
customer acquisition and retention
Scale spend to achieve further efficiencies in
customer acquisition & retention through both
digital community-focused initiatives
3.
Multiple new SKUs and inventory
Building our “share of cocktail” by expanding
the portfolio & creating new usage occasions
4.
Marketing & community
Advantageous, pre-negotiated sponsorships,
tapping into existing, relevant fan bases in our key markets
5.
Key Sales/Marketing hires
Growing our “feet on the street”, and educating
new customers on the benefits of NA spirits
Impact
A brand that cares about our world and the people in it
- Worldwide, 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol. This represents 5.3% of all deaths.
- A majority of these people who over-consume alcohol do it NOT because they crave alcohol, but because of the satisfaction of having a full glass of something wonderful and the social interaction that comes with it. And when someone is finished with their cocktail and gets asked "another round??" the answer is usually "yes!" because switching to a boring seltzer or a sugary soda just sucks.
- Free Spirits is driving the understanding of and access to spirits that are equally as complex, bold and exciting. What if 5% of the deaths that occur each year due to harmful use of alcohol didn't happen due to Free Spirits and the growth of the No & Low category? That alone would be an additional 150,000 moms, dads, brothers and sisters who would be home with their families right now who were taken too soon.
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Giving back to our communities
Making an impact on our communities and our world is important to the people of Free Spirits. It's why we've donated and contributed to so many amazing charitable organizations.
Funding
From strength
to STRENGTH
To this point, we've really bootstrapped this thing. With a lotta hard work, some luck, and by calling in some (okay a lot of) favors — oh, and with relatively little outside capital: founders and employees own >75% of the company — we've built this into a leading brand, with national distribution, a robust DTC business, 350% YoY growth and new states and retailers coming aboard weekly.
Now it's time to light this candle. With the investment we're seeking, we will accelerate progress to achieve $7M in 2023 revenue, $12M in 2024, and $18M in 2025.*
* Click here for important information regarding Financial Projections which are not guaranteed.
Founders
Founder-led
by proven brand builder Milan Martin
F
or the past decade, Milan has held executive-level positions across two continents, leading large-scale brand engagements for dozens of Fortune 50 and innovation brands.
Prior to founding Free Spirits, Milan led Grey Advertising in California through a significant turn-around and to the most successful time in its history. Under Milan’s leadership, Grey was recognized as one of the fastest growing, most creatively awarded agencies in the World. Taking home top honors at festivals including Effies, Cannes, OneShows and D&AD, In addition to the business results achieved for Grey’s clients were all factors in the Agency being named as Global Agency of the Year three years running.
Earlier in his career, Milan spent over a decade at Ogilvy & Mather in both London and New York City where his work and leadership helped shape brands and businesses including AT&T, Gillette, Michelob, IBM, Motorola and Anheuser Busch.
Summary
Plant-based meat,
electric cars,
nut milk...
Non-alcoholic spirits
We're leading a space that is going to change the way people 'drink'. We've built a collaborative team of some of the most talented humans on the planet, strong brand momentum, innovative liquid, a unique business model and a jump start on a category that has shown tremendous growth with much more to deliver.
Community is so important to the people of Free Spirits so, in addition to being employee owned, we'd love to add the honor of being community owned and have you on board for this amazing journey with us!
