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This story is part of CNBC’s new quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have been transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and workers.
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Alcohol-free beverage options have skyrocketed over the past few years, and that trend has especially picked up in the form of nonalcoholic beer in Denver, an epicenter for craft breweries.
The city, nestled in the Rocky Mountains, has embraced the alcohol-free trend as breweries increasingly shift to incorporating more inclusive beverages into their offerings.
Nonalcoholic options on menus increased more than 55% from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the same period in 2023, according to data from Technomic, a food service research and consulting firm.
Though nonalcoholic beers have been around since Anheuser-Busch launched O’Doul’s in 1990, recent surges in interest driven primarily by younger and more health-conscious consumers have caused an explosion in the sector, Technomic found.
And analysts forecast that interest will keep growing. Between 2022 and 2026, nonalcoholic beer volumes are expected to grow by about 25%, according to data from the IWSR, an alcoholic beverage insights company.
And according to data from NielsenIQ, a consumer buying behavior database, Colorado was the second-highest state accounting for nonalcoholic beverage investment in 2023.
“People are becoming more and more curious, and since Denver is a city with a lot of people that are outside exercising and staying fit, there are a lot of people who are interested in lowering their alcohol intake and staying healthy,” Keith Villa, co-founder and brewmaster of Ceria Brewing Company in Colorado, told CNBC. “In our case, we’re starting to see more and more people be educated about nonalcoholic and alcohol-free beer and start to reach for our products.”