Almave, a non-alcohol spirit made with blue agave, will use Coachella and Stagecoach as springboards for a new Blanco product crafted specially for mixed drinks. The brand—backed by Formula 1 champ Lewis Hamilton and Mexican spirits group Casa Lumbre—is trying to stand out in a “clearly competitive” arena and tap into the dual trends of booze-free cocktails and exploding tequila demand, per Troy Gorczyca, chief marketing officer at Casa Lumbre.
The festival settings “encourage consumers to experience the product in the context it’s meant to be consumed,” Gorczyca said. “We hope to keep showing up in relevant spaces.”
Lessons learned
Learnings from year one of the Coachella relationship gave Gonzalez some ideas on how to tweak the program for year two. She and her team redesigned the physical walk-up bars to include more lounging areas with “tables, chairs, protection from the sun, places to hang out,” Gonzalez said.
And based on consumer feedback, there will be an amped up focus on education so that bartenders can readily explain the booze-free products and cocktail ingredients. Knowing and detailing the benefits of the tipples—which can include adaptogens and other nootropics—helps support their cost, which is about 80% of their alcoholic counterparts.
Gonzalez will invest more in her marketing around the events, via paid ads on TikTok, Meta, Google and YouTube, geotargeting the top metro areas where festivalgoers live. The New Bar is also exploring guerrilla-style outdoor ads, while bulking up its themed merchandise, in-store promos and product bundles that consumers can buy ahead of the events.
The soberest generation
The abstinence movement—already carving out space in the popular consciousness via Dry January, Sober October and other mainstream events—continues to pick up momentum in 2024.
