Laura Willoughby MBE is co-founder of Club Soda, the Mindful Drinking Movement. Their aim is to create a world where nobody feels out of place for not drinking. Club Soda has individuals, workplaces, and social spaces in its membership.
The inspiration for Club Soda comes Laura’s experience of giving up drinking five years ago. A campaigner at heart with a background in movement building and politics, she realised that one of the big sticking points was the poor range of options if you go for a night out but don’t want to drink alcohol. Club Soda has undertaken some impressive behaviour and trend research into the demand for lower alcohol drinks and the amount of business lost to the free tap water!
Club Soda has over 11,000 individual members, have built a venue listing guide and ran the UK’s first-ever Mindful Drinking Festival in August 2017 in collaboration with Bermondsey Square Hotel.
Never Miss a Sale – How to Make the Most of the Alcohol-Free Trend
Sales of alcohol-free drinks are on the increase, whilst alcoholic drink sales are static. 2017 has seen several new alcohol-free beers and distilled and other alcohol-free drinks come onto the market. Tesco introduced an alcohol-free aisle that has exceeded their expectations, and the UK’s first Mindful Drinking Festival attracted 2,500 on a sunny afternoon to Bermondsey Square.
In January 2017, Club Soda launched their first pub guide for mindful drinkers in East London. Through their conversations with over 400 pubs and bars and 5,000 customers, they have gained an insight into what customers want, and how pubs can make sure they stock the right products and know how to sell them. After all, there is no money to be made from tapwater!
In this talk you will hear unique insights into the growing alcohol-free drinks market:
- why drinks producers are racing to market with new 0% products
- why alcohol-free drinks now taste better than before
- what questions customers ask about the new wave of alcohol-free drinks
- when and how and to upsell an alcohol-free drink to boost your profits
