Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Spirits wins 10 medals at prestigious US competition

Source: Lyre's Non-Alcoholic Spirits. Non-alcoholic
absinthe with lemonade.

In the brand’s first year on the market, Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirits has been awarded 10 medals at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC). In its 20th year, SFWSC is one of the most influential spirits competitions in the world, judged by a panel of 52 leading industry experts. The 2020 SFWSC competition was the biggest in its history, featuring almost 3,000 entries in various categories.

Gold medals were awarded to Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso and Dark Cane Spirit, while Aperitif Dry, Amaretti, Coffee Originale, and Spiced Cane Spirit received silver medals. In addition, Lyre’s Orange Sec, Dry London Spirit, White Cane Spirit, and American Malt were recognised with bronze medals.

The awards are the result of Lyre’s creator and co-founder Mark Livings’ desire to create a non-alcoholic product line that captures as closely as possible, the flavours and aromas of the world’s favourite spirits. The brand is named after the lyrebird, an Australian breed known for its ability to mimic the birdsong of any other creature it hears.

The Lyre’s range draws from a library of over 12,500 extracts, all-natural essences and distillates to replicate classic spirits, all derived from a proprietary mix of international fruits, spices, and botanicals.

“It is brilliant to see Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Spirits honoured with such a prestigious set of awards and I am even more pleased to see non-alcoholic spirits participating in and winning awards at competitions like the San Francisco World Spirits Competition,” said Livings.

“As the movement toward lower ABV* and zero-proof drinks continues to rise, Lyre’s offers consumers an option to enjoy their drink, their way. We believe our collective medals from highly controlled blind tasting competitions make Lyre’s the most awarded non-alcoholic spirit brand globally and undeniably reinforces the credibility of this new category and our range and flavour leadership.”

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*ABV stands for alcohol by volume and refers to the amount of pure alcohol is in a beverage, expressed as the number of ml per 100 ml.

Heineken introduces zero-alcohol option

Stack of six-packs at a Singapore.

Heineken 0.0, an alcohol-free malt beverage brewed with a unique recipe for a distinct, balanced taste and just 69 calories per bottle (70 calories per 330ml can), was launched in the US on January 9.

Announced as far back as May 2017, Heineken 0.0 is also available in Singapore. Heineken's Master Brewers created the new zero-alcohol option using only natural ingredients.

Said Jonnie Cahill, CMO, HEINEKEN USA: "Heineken 0.0 brings an incredible beer taste to the non-alcoholic space and opens a world of opportunity for people to come together and enjoy a brew that expands drinking occasions—not limits them."

Willem van Waesberghe, Global Craft and Brew Master at HEINEKEN said creating Heineken 0.0 was the most challenging brewing process of his career. "Removing alcohol from regular 5% Heineken would have been easy, but it wouldn't deliver the same premium beer taste that Heineken is known for. Heineken 0.0 is brewed from scratch and has a perfectly balanced taste with refreshing fruity notes and soft, malty finish," he said.

The brand which has seen strong growth in the zero-alcohol segment in various markets. Heineken 0.0 is available in more than 30 markets around the world.

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Non-alcoholic malt beverages to shine through to 2028

Future Market Insights (FMI) says the global non-alcoholic malt beverages market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.0% during the forecast period of 2018-2028.

The global non-alcoholic malt beverages market is expected to represent an incremental opportunity of US$856.2 million by end-2018 over 2017. By product type, the dairy-based non-alcoholic malt beverages segment is expected to register a CAGR of 4.1%. 

Non-alcoholic malt beverages and other non-alcoholic drinks are becoming popular as a healthier alternative to alcoholic drinks, FMI notes. Non-alcoholic malt beverages are already very popular in the in the Middle East due to them getting halal certification. Consuming non-alcoholic malt beverages has also become a statement of higher living standards. They also taste good as compared to that of alcoholic beverages, FMI said. 

Non-alcoholic malt beverages such as Milo, Vitmalt, and Hollandia Chocomalt have extra nutritional content incorporated, raising their value and changing their positioning to energy drinks.

"Non-alcoholic malt beverages are available in the market in many different flavors so that people get a choice to select their preferred drink. A few non-alcoholic malt beverages resemble beer in taste, and the only difference remains that these non-alcoholic malt beverages contain zero percent alcohol," FMI stated.

"Non-alcoholic malt beverages is also an upcoming trend seen in countries that have an improved economic condition, where the consumption of beverages is a must in social gatherings, and the standard of living is high. The appeal of non-alcoholic malt beverages is also increased due to social media, which is being used by most companies, especially targeting the youth population. 

"Women are also seen to be consuming ready-to-drink (RTD) non-alcoholic beverages such as non-alcoholic malt beverages. Women have always been known to try different flavours and experiment with their drinks. Also, the health factor is given importance by women, and non-alcoholic malt beverages, having no alcohol, are proving to be a healthy option," FMI said.

FMI believes that there are untapped markets to focus on, including producing in-country. "There are several regions where malt-based beverages are imported from other countries. This leads to the high cost of premium products, as such, affecting sales in these regions. Companies are focusing on expanding and manufacturing their premium products in these regions itself, leading to comparatively lower costs. Low penetration in a few regions, coupled with the high costs of premium imported products, create an opportunity for manufacturers to expand in such regions," the company said.

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Nestlé replacing vanillin with natural vanilla in the US

Source: Nestlé. 

Nestlé USA will remove artificial flavours such as vanillin and FDA-certified colours like Red 40 and Yellow 5 from all of its chocolate candy products by the end of 2015. The company said the move has already been taken by Nestlé in other parts of the world and will cover more than 250 products in the US. Products will begin appearing on store shelves by mid-2015, and will be identified by a No Artificial Flavors or Colors claim featured on-pack.

The company said ingredients from natural sources can include annatto, which comes from the seeds found in the fruit from the achiote tree, to replace Red 40 and Yellow 5 in the BUTTERFINGER centre. In CRUNCH, natural vanilla flavour, which contains a minimum of 35% ethyl alcohol by US law, will replace vanillin.

“Nestlé is the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company and our commitment to remove artificial flavours and certified colours in our chocolate candy brands is an important milestone,” said Doreen Ida, President, Nestlé USA Confections & Snacks. 

“We know that candy consumers are interested in broader food trends around fewer artificial ingredients. As we thought about what this means for our candy brands, our first step has been to remove artificial flavours and colours without affecting taste or increasing the price.”

“We never compromise on taste. When making these changes to more than 75 recipes, maintaining the great taste and appearance consumers expect from the chocolate brands they know and love is our #1 priority,” said Leslie Mohr, Nutrition, Health and Wellness manager, Nestlé Confections & Snacks. “We conducted consumer testing to ensure the new recipe delivers on our high standards for taste and appearance.”

According to Mohr, this change affects Nestlé’s current portfolio of chocolate brands including NESTLE CRUNCH, BUTTERFINGER, BABY RUTH, SKINNY COW, RAISINETS, GOOBERS, SNO CAPS, 100 GRAND, OH HENRY and CHUNKY. 

Going forward, all newly launched chocolate and non-chocolate candy products (gummies, sours, etc.) introduced by Nestlé USA will be made without artificial flavours or colours. Additionally, Nestlé USA is actively pursuing the removal of caramel colouring from its chocolate products. Caramel colouring is an exempt-from-certification colour additive, which is used in only nine of the more than 250 chocolate products.