🔒Dry Power: Better Rhodes’ growth fueled by boom in alcohol-free adult beverages

Before you pour out your first shot of nonalcoholic whiskey, Andrew Chartier has some advice.

Don’t drink it straight or on the rocks. Add more of the “whiskey alternative” to a cocktail recipe than you would with the hard stuff. And be sure to sip slowly, enjoying the complex mix of flavors.

“These alcohol-free spirits that we’re currently selling and what’s out in the market right now really are designed to be made into a mixed drink,” Chartier said, holding up a bottle of Mashville, a whiskey alternative made by Wilton-based Seir Hill.

Sure enough, the Mashville holds its own in an Old Fashioned, the strong smoky flavor perfuming the glass and cutting right through the maple syrup used as a sweetener.

Chartier, customer experience manager at nonalcoholic beverage distributor Better Rhodes in Madison, aims to help customers appreciate the wide range of “whiskey alternatives,” mocktails and alcohol-free beers in stock at the company’s showroom. He also helps make sampler packs and cocktail kits for Better Rhodes’ 50,000 customers nationwide.

That customer list is getting longer by the day: Better Rhodes’ sales doubled in the last year and have consistently grown 10% to 20% month over month, said company founder Chris Becker.

The company, which declined to disclose annual revenues, launched a wholesale business in late 2022 that is rapidly expanding, with grocery chains, hospitality groups and restaurants turning to Better Rhodes to curate nonalcoholic offerings.

“We are really seen as kind of an expert in the space who knows what types of products and solutions to bring,” Becker said. “In this last six months, I would say things have kind of really started to take off at a different velocity.”

Proven model

Better Rhodes has grown from Becker alone in his Madison home office in 2019, to 15 employees in several locations, with an eye on a West Coast expansion sometime soon.

The company’s operations are centered in Madison, with the showroom, warehouse and shipping department occupying adjacent units in a business park at 175 Fort Path Road, just south of Interstate 95.

“We’re getting out of what I call our bootstrap phase — we’re looking at a seed round and accelerating our growth,” Becker said. “We’ve kind of proven out the model and we’re excited to see where else we can connect into the Connecticut infrastructure.”

The nonalcoholic adult beverage category — which includes beer, wine, spirits and pre-mixed cocktails — is just emerging into public consciousness as more people move away from booze for health and lifestyle reasons.

Although its share has increased annually for the past five years, sales of booze-free products accounted for only 0.47% of total adult beverage sales in the U.S., according to NielsenIQ.

Within that small percentage, however, sales are booming, with sales of nonalcoholic beer up 19.5% in August 2022 compared to the year before; nonalcoholic wine is up 23.2% and nonalcoholic spirits up 88.4%, NielsenIQ found.

Alcohol-free beer maker Athletic Brewing, founded in Stratford and now with a major Milford presence, reported more than 100% growth in sales in 2022, capturing 55% of the market share of craft nonalcoholic beer in the U.S., and distributing its products in all 50 states.

Becker said Better Rhodes provides a crucial service in introducing people to a category that is still in its infancy.

“I guess most people still don’t even know that these products exist,” Becker said, gesturing at shelves full of cans and bottles from across the globe. Better Rhodes wants to educate and sell to drinkers looking for new options.

The company’s sweet spot is acting as a taster and curator of the dozens of new alcohol-free adult beverages that come online every month and helping fledgling brewers and distillers find a customer base.

“Adult beverages” in this context mean quaffs with complex flavors that incorporate the bitterness, smokiness and sourness found in alcoholic drinks. Brewers, distillers and winemakers have jumped into the market with an array of products of varying quality.

Some makers like Athletic and Seedlip have made it as far as supermarket shelves, but many others are entering the space.

“What we try to focus on is the next generation of alcohol-free products,” Becker said. “So, if you’re coming to us, it’s usually because it’s something hopefully new or it’s curated.”

Better Rhodes accomplishes that curation mainly through its website, which offers a full e-commerce store stocked with rare and new items, along with sample and combination packs.

Customers can also shop and comment on beverages via an app and learn about new products through a podcast — or by stopping by the Madison showroom for tasting and advice.

Startup mindset

Becker brings to Better Rhodes a background in software startups and technology consulting; he moved to Madison with his family after success in New York. Better Rhodes was born in 2019 after he started looking for nonalcoholic drink alternatives while on vacation.

“Like a lot of businesses, it started out with trying to solve a problem for myself,” Becker said.

He started searching online for alcohol-free beers that tasted better than the traditional sweet and watery offerings from beverage giants.

“I was looking for ways to not drink, but also wanted it to be something where I didn’t feel like I was missing out,” he said. “I was surprised at the amount I was actually able to find but I had to go searching for it.”

He ended up ordering cases of different alcohol-free craft beers in order to find a few he liked, and saw a business opportunity in hunting down the best options for discerning non-drinkers.

Like the founders of Athletic, Becker sees the growth of the alcohol-free sector as part of general wellness and health trends rather than a moral stance against alcohol.

Better Rhodes started with offering quality nonalcoholic beer, but soon moved into the spirits space with products like Seir Hill’s Mashville whiskey alternative.

“Better Rhodes has been a terrific partner of ours since shortly after we started selling product in 2020,” said Seir Hill founder Brian Miller. “They placed a big order from us and have been one of our largest customers since.”

In addition to Mashville, the Wilton-based distiller now makes Durangold, an alcohol-free tequila alternative, and a nonalcoholic rum alternative called Biscane. All of Seir Hill’s products can be found on Better Rhodes’ platforms, along with other emerging alcohol-free spirits brands like Monday, Ritual and Ceder’s.

“Not only do they know nonalcoholic beverages, they know how to market and sell them to consumers,” Miller said.

Toasting to wine’s future

One major growth area Becker said he sees ahead is alcohol-free wine, which has been difficult to perfect because so much of what drinkers like about wine — body, aroma and flavor — is transmitted through the alcohol.

“Without the alcohol, you’re definitely missing some of that punch,” Becker said. “It’s going to take a few more years, but they’re getting closer and closer.”

Working with a German winemaker, Better Rhodes has developed its own brand of wines, Wander + Found, with red, white, rosé and sparkling versions.

Another growth area that Becker is focusing on is “functionals,” beverages that help you relax, sleep or get energized like Three Spirit Nightcap, a “soothing elixir … made with tree saps, aromatic plants and herbs used in ancient rituals.”

Cans of pre-mixed nonalcoholic cocktails are also growing in popularity with younger consumers, Becker said. Better Rhodes offers its exclusive Sir. James 101 line of pre-made, ready-to-drink cocktails in flavors like bitter aperitif spritz, gin tonic and mojito.

The boom in nonalcoholic options has intensified competition, Becker said, but also benefited his business as the offerings improve in quality.

“There’s lots of great products out there but as they become more available, we try to focus on where we can add the most value,” he said.