Atlantans who annually embrace Dry January have more nonalcoholic drinks to choose from compared to one year ago. Among new beverages geared toward the teetotaler is BAR NØNE, a new brand from Atlanta-based beverage giant Coca-Cola.
Making its debut at Taste of Atlanta last fall, BAR NØNE includes a portfolio of four flavors –spiced ginger mule, bellini spritz, dry aged cider and sparkling sangria. The products have since hit the shelves of select package stores, bottle shops and specialty stores in greater Atlanta as well Savannah, Greensboro and Gainesville. They are also sold on the BAR NØNE website. Four-pack bottles retail for $10.99.
This newest innovation to come out of Coca-Cola’s Venturing and Emerging Brands business unit is lead Sabrina Tandon, BAR NØNE creator and general manager.
The idea for these alcohol replacement drinks began after Tandon explored her own beverage consumption habits. “My own drinking behavior was changing. I have children, a job. I need to be on my game,” said the 17-year Coca-Cola employee.
Whereas she once marked the transition from work to home by having an alcoholic drink, “that’s not the experience I found myself wanting,” Tandon explained. Neither did a simple glass of sparkling water or a club soda with lime or a soft drink.
“The more I started looking at consumer data, I realized I wasn’t alone in that thinking,” she said.
BAR NØNE drinks are made with all-natural flavors and sweetened with juice blends or cane sugar. The formulas developed for the drinks attempt to hit numerous markers to be considered satisfying replacements for alcoholic, Tandon said. “It needs to be a sipping drink, have the bite and tang of alcohol, and complex flavors,” she said. In addition, the company tried to tap into current flavor trends as well as find appeal with wine, spirits and beer drinkers.
The sparkling sangria is intended to be wine like, as is the bellini spritz, whose peach flavor is a nod to Georgia. The company landed on a nonalcoholic cider as an alternative to the growing hard cider market, and the ginger mule is formulated to quench the thirst for those who might typically order a cocktail. Seasonal offerings such as a margarita or mojito are something that the company may consider down the road, Tandon said.
There are no details about whether or when BAR NØNE will expand beyond the Georgia marketplace.
BAR NØNE is sold at these greater Atlanta stores:
• Mac’s Beer and Wine
• H&F Bottle Shop
• Buckhead’s Best Wine and Spirits
• Decatur Package
• Jax Package
• Paces Bottle Shop
• Savi Provisions
• Smyrna World of Beverage
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