BevZero leads non-alcoholic wine boom in South Africa
By Diane Silcock
THE no/low alcohol market globally is on an upward trajectory with volumes forecast to expand at a CAGR of +4% between 2024 and 2028, with no-alcohol driving this with a +7% volume CAGR. This is according to IWSR’s No/Low Alcohol Strategic Study, which also states that ‘the no-alcohol category alone is expected to deliver incremental growth of US$4bn+ by 2028’.
It’s not surprising, therefore, that BevZero, a Paarl-based operation specialising in de-alcoholisation and alcohol reduction, is experiencing a greater demand for their services.
With over 30 years of experience globally, BevZero employs advanced vacuum distillation technologies and processes that remove alcohol from beverages gently and efficiently. This approach preserves the essence of the original product, ensuring that non-alcoholic versions retain their intended flavour profiles. The company, based in California, with offices in South Africa and Spain, pioneered the use of Very Low Temperature Distillation (VLTD) as a tool for winemakers.
Gustav Fouché, MD of BevZero South Africa, says, “In South Africa, globally we are rated as one of the top producers of non-alcohol and de-alcoholised wines because of the excellent wine selection available to us, as well as our choice of wine as the base product. We choose more high-end wines, compared to other global wine regions, for instance, so our starting product is high end, and this results in a better final product. Our aim is to mimic an existing wine thereby giving our customers a non-alcoholic or de-alcoholised counterpart as well.”
Focusing on wine and cider, BevZero South Africa serves winemakers, distillers and non-alcoholic beverage producers in this fast-growing sector. Their expertise ranges from de-alcoholisation (down to below 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) to below 0.05% ABV), to alcohol reduction, cross flow filtration, flavour management, and product development.
The latest research by YouGov, an international online research data and analytics technology group, shows a growing demand for non-alcoholic alternatives particularly among younger adults.
Fouché says that they have definitely noticed less traditional wine drinkers, and the younger adult generations’ shift towards de-alcoholised and alcohol-free beverages has a lot to do with them being more health-conscious. Drinking low or alcohol-free beverages is also more socially acceptable as it’s no longer stigmatised.
BevZero has been successful in helping winemakers to be ahead of the curve. Due to their advanced technology and international experience, as demand peaked for low/alcohol-free beverages, they were very quickly able to assist local winemakers in introducing quality products onto the market to compete with the international products. This was around 2017/2018 even prior to the COVID pandemic.
“The sector is growing exponentially, especially in terms of alcohol-free wines and even wine-based drinks. And what’s evolved significantly in our industry, is the product development side,” says Fouché. “In particular, we work with an already de-alcoholised wine product to improve it even further. Our team has expertise in winemaking, distillation, food science and beverage development, which gives us a unique understanding of how to make exceptional innovative beverages to meet the growing trends of the market.”
