Raising the bar for inclusion with non-alcoholic beverages

Inclusion means rethinking how to make meetings and events more inclusive and welcoming to all, including meeting the growing number of attendees’ demand for non-alcoholic beverages.

The alcohol-fueled camaraderie of conference happy hour receptions has long been a staple of most conferences and events. But now that more and more people are paying more attention to health and wellness, and on top of that, with 38% of U.S. adults giving up drinking entirely, according to a July 2023 Gallup survey , it might be time to reconsider drinking .

According to the International Wine & Spirits Record (IWSR), a global beverage data and analytics agency, 64% of Gen Z in the United States who are of legal drinking age said they had not consumed alcohol in the first six months of the year, especially considering at this point. provider. While older generations are still more likely to drink, Millennials also tend to drink less than Generation X and Baby Boomers. Aren’t these the exact people you want at your event? And, in addition to those who are committed to a sober lifestyle or those who are allergic to alcohol, there are others who are recovering from alcohol or who just want to stay awake for an important meeting in the morning.

While you might think that offering alternatives like soda, juice, and bottled water is enough, it’s not enough to make non-drinkers feel truly welcome and included, according to an event held during IMEX America called “Beyond the Bar.” During the discussion, panelists stated that the fall 2024 event will be held at Jimmy Kimmel Comedy Club in Las Vegas and will be hosted by Caesars Entertainment and OTHR Agency in partnership with CEMA (Corporate Event Marketing Association).

David T. Stevens, host of the Olympia Conference and host of the Healthy Back podcast, noted that of the exhibitors who responded to a post asking if they planned to offer mocktails at their booth, only one actually does (Caesars Entertainment, which makes health a big focus these days). The rest still think juice, soda, flavored lemonade and water are enough. However, he laughed and said one stall did serve a real mocktail — a spirit-free bourbon infused with ashwagandha and a dash of lime in a martini glass — that was better than what he asked for last year. The number of identical problems found increased by 100%.

So why do organizers often come up with specialty cocktails for their meetings, but don’t serve up equally special mocktails in beautiful cocktail glasses at the bar like everyone else? Maybe it’s because, for as long as non-drinkers can remember, they’ve been accustomed to this normalcy.

As panelist Carl Radke, consultant for Loverboy, owner of Soft Bar in Brooklyn and star of Summer House on Bravo, said: “Just because you don’t drink, doesn’t mean You should enjoy less experience.”

“People want to have an authority structure in place to express their full selves and feel valued,” added Alyssa Hart, global sales manager at OTHR Agency. “Events are probably the biggest ‘third space’ out there, so we have to think about being a part of those spaces. People gather with a duty of care to make them feel included.”

The panel of industry experts (which also included Madelyn Olavarria, global head of sales and president of women at AWS – Amazon Web Services) sipped non-alcoholic white peach tea; and Tracy Stuckrath, founder and chief communications officer of Thrive! Conferences and Events – also noted Some practical considerations to consider and calls for inclusivity.

For example, several panelists said a lot of alcohol ends up not being consumed, which is a waste of resources in today’s budget-constrained environment. “I could use that budget for other more specific things,” Olawaria said. Is an alcohol-soaked event, perhaps with attendees sticking their heads in a fountain, really the image your organization wants to project? Olawaria noted that no one would assume that those too hungover to attend morning meetings were making the best use of their time or scarce travel dollars.

The group also shared some ideas on how to make cocktail parties and other traditionally alcohol-centric events more inclusive:

• Don’t wait until people ask for it. Likewise, many people are used to being left out and are therefore reluctant to ask. It’s a bit of a Catch-22, Stuckrath said. You won’t stock it if no one asks for it, but no one will ask for it if they think you don’t have it in stock. Don’t do this to your attendees – make it as obvious as the alcoholic beverage so no one will ask.
• Stuckrath recommends asking about non-alcoholic beverage options early in the planning process, even during the RFP stage. Ask to sample non-alcoholic beverages when visiting the site.
• Don’t take “no” as their final answer. If the venue says they can’t serve high-quality mocktails, put it in the contract that you can bring your own cocktails. Stuckrath said she has a local liquor store supply special non-alcoholic ingredients to her meeting location.
• Explore some of the non-alcoholic products already on the market from large alcohol producers. According to panelists, non-alcoholic beers and several types of spirits have already made significant inroads among major alcohol companies, and even non-alcoholic wine is starting to become a viable option as major companies rush to enter this emerging sober market. If Anheuser-Busch and Guinness are pouring R&D dollars into non-alcoholic brands, perhaps meeting and event organizers should raise the bar for non-alcoholic options, too.

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