As Interest in Wellness Stirs Up the Cocktail World, This Executive Gets Her Shot

“Transforming Spaces” is a series about women driving change, sometimes in unexpected places.

One weeknight, Heidi Dillon flies around Manhattan and San Francisco, ducks into bars, stays in one of them for over two hours, and bartenders with various products and cocktails.

However, there is a caveat. She doesn’t jump around for topics. With a background in health and wellness-focused marketing and branding applied to coffee, fresh juices, snack foods and ready-to-drink “clean” cocktails, Dillon has landed at the forefront of growing apathy. low-alcohol beverage category. The category is gaining ground within the alcoholic beverage industry, with manufacturers of spirits around the world recognizing growing health concerns from consumers of a wide range of ages and genders.

Mr Dillon distillation venture, a company that supports founders and helps brands grow in the alcohol industry. Now she’s carving her own place in a growing segment of a space long dominated by men. That’s reflected in every liquor store, with brands on the shelves named after old distilleries and distillery owners, including Jack Daniel’s, Elijah Craig, Pappy Van Winkle, George Dickel, Uncle Nearest and Evan Williams. is named in

But the landscape is changing. “About 70% of people drink non-alcoholic beverages occasionally and alcoholic beverages occasionally,” says Dillon. “It opens up opportunities because it’s a lot of the same people that retailers, bartenders and distributors are already serving. The whole exists and wants more.”

That means more flavors, more creative replacements for your favorite spirits, and more options in general.

Unless you live at a bourbon distillery, you can’t miss the evidence that non-alcoholic cocktails are no longer a niche option for designated drivers and those abstaining from drinking. Fine dining restaurants and craft cocktail bars are adding non-alcoholic cocktails to their menus as well, and non-drinkers-only shops and bars are New York’s bustling destinations. Los Angeles, Austin, Denver and elsewhere.

During the dry January and mild October, communal abstinence from alcohol is popular as a cleanse. According to 2022 Research published by Morning Consult, a market research firm, reports that 19% of Americans are participating in a dry January, up from 13% in 2021. 27% among millennials.

It now has enough followers to spur an entire lifestyle and the dozens of hashtags that go with it. Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association, was founded in 2021 and currently has 110 members. The rapid growth is driven by millennials’ awareness of physical health and mental well-being, a broader trend toward clean living, and increased availability of legal marijuana, which some choose over alcohol. It is due to many factors such as

According to IWSR, a company that provides analysis of the beverage market, global retail sales of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol products are Valued at over $11 billionincreased from $8 billion in 2018. As this category continues to expand, non-alcoholic products are driving growth and are expected to account for 90% of that subset’s growth.

Dillon, a single mother of two young daughters based in Santa Cruz, California, said: This is about choice. This means that one day it might tilt like this and another day like this. The idea is that over the course of a week or night, many people alternate between stronger and lesser or weaker alcoholic beverages. ”

While the number of products continues to grow, shelf space in bars and stores is limited. So one of his jobs for Mr. Dillon is to understand how spirit-free commodities fit into that wider landscape.

She quickly realized that zero-proof cocktails appealed to a wider demographic than she thought. In this health-conscious time, alcohol-free drinks are outstripping trendy cocktails. After all, vegan food was once a niche market, but Industry worth $26.16 billion in 2021.

“The beverage industry is always a mix of tradition and modernity, but I think the traditional side often wins out. , said Frank Lampen, co-founder and CEO of Distill Ventures, an independent Diageo-funded company. Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff. Lampen added, “I feel that legacy is reflected in the makeup of today’s industry, which is still fairly male-dominated.”

To lead the company’s non-alcoholic division, Lampen sought someone who could bring a different perspective to the role, someone with experience that would help him connect not only new products, but entirely new categories across a wide cross section. I was. of consumers.

“We needed someone with empathy to engage and understand the alcohol-dominated perspective and see where it would take you,” he said. “Heidi brings new thinking and experience in terms of understanding and reaching consumers and how we connect the alcohol-driven world of opportunity with something different and innovative. will bring you

In the spirits industry, especially whiskey, innovation is often playing around with barrel types, charcoal levels, and incorporating different grains into distilling recipes. Non-alcoholic beverages require a different tactic.

“It’s about developing new flavor profiles and drawing inspiration from their spirits counterparts, but taking input from the culinary field and beyond to take it to the next level,” said Dillon. Creators of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol brands aren’t bound by the familiar flavors of traditional spirits, so they’re looking for inspiration beyond drinks. “You see bitterness and length and mouthfeel, but how do you achieve and balance all that without alcohol?”

This isn’t the first time Dillon has made strides in an industry run largely by men for men. When she worked as her marketing manager on the field for her Clif Bar & Company, she would show up at her sports events and hand out snacks to her elite athletes, like Black, who were trying to run down her diamond run. . Males were usually more numerous than females. When the company launched Luna Her Bar for women, she became the marketing manager for that new brand. Not only has she participated in events such as Professional Women’s Mountain Her Bike Her Race, but she has also contributed to the growth of her events such as Lifestyle. Lunafestis a short film festival showcasing female filmmakers to connect with women beyond the sports world.

“Throughout her career, the idea of ​​equity and inclusion and creating access has always been at the forefront of conversations,” said Dillon, senior director of brand partnerships and communications at Cliff Barr, where she worked. One Lisa Novak said. As Luna’s marketing manager. “She is always inviting women to thrive in male-dominated spaces, such as sports and current spirits. Women representing women help transform industries beyond individual product categories. .”

As an incubator, Distill Ventures provides coaching and mentorship to brand founders to help grow their companies. Among the non-alcoholic and low-alcohol divisions she oversees, Dillon has made it a priority to focus on emerging brands owned and operated by women and minorities. By highlighting these start-ups by underrepresented groups in the industry, Dillon aims to normalize diversity. She wants to get to the moment when someone doesn’t have to qualify by gender, race, or sexuality, and is simply referred to by a title.

“It’s their company,” said Ms. Dillon. “So you don’t have to say, ‘I’m a female founder’ or ‘I’m a black founder.’ They’re just founders. No adjectives needed.”

That sensibility is also evident in Cindy Pressman, who created Attost, a low-alcohol aperitif, in 2020 with her husband Kyle. Dillon became her mentor when her ventures invested in Distill in 2022. Pressman said many times when she went to her business meetings, her husband would give her the first handshake and most of the eye contact. That’s not what she’s used to from her previous jobs in the fashion industry.

“I’ve always worked for companies that were mostly made up of women, so stepping into the alcohol industry was definitely a culture shock,” Pressman said. “Heidi talked me into a really crowded room. gave me.”

For Dillon, prioritizing inclusivity is the most logical way to market any beverage brand.

“This is an industry that really brings people together,” she said. “Why not have a great drink to enjoy on the occasion? As long as it’s balanced and intriguing, it doesn’t matter what the evidence is.”