Beefeater to add alcohol-free variant in Spain

Beefeater has become the latest spirits brand to roll out an alcohol-free version of its flagship drink, starting in Spain from this month.

But UK shoppers will have to wait to get their hands on the tipple, with a phased global rollout planned over a period of “around 12 months” according to Beefeater brand owner Pernod Ricard.

The 0.0% abv drink was “inspired by” Beefeater London Dry Gin and the result of 154 different recipe iterations, Beefeater said.

It was created “by adding the essence of Beefeater London Dry Gin’s classic recipe” to a base liquid and maintained the brand’s “iconic citric and juniper-forward profile but without the alcohol”, according to the brand.

It would be produced in Thuir, in the southeast of France, where Pernod Ricard said it had made “significant investments” to make and package alcohol-free spirits.

It would launch in Spain with an rsp of €15.34 per 70cl bottle.

Pernod Ricard elected to launch Beefeater 0.0% in Spain – where it already produces and sells a 20% abv Beefeater Light variant – after seeing non-alcoholic spirits perform strongly in “big spirits markets”, according to Solène Marchand, head of marketing for non-alcoholics at Pernod Ricard.

“It’s in big spirit markets where people understand how you consume spirits,” she said. “They then understand how to consume non-alcoholic spirits too.

“There is a strong spirits market in Spain and it is a huge market for gins, and the leading market for the Beefeater brand itself.”

She said the successful launch of Seagram’s 0.0% in Spain last year had persuaded Pernod Ricard of the merits of alcohol-free brand extensions.

“Having brand awareness for the brand name helps consumers understand what the product is, how you’re supposed to consume it,” she added.

Marchand would not be drawn on exactly when Beefeater 0.0% would arrive in the UK.

“The launch is in in Spain for the moment, but we of course have a global ambition for this innovation,” she said. “Today there’s nothing I can confirm, but I can say the expansion will first take place mainly in Europe.”

Alongside Beefeater 0.0% and Seagram’s 0.0%, Pernod Ricard also owns the Ceder’s alcohol-free spirit brand.

Its major spirits rival, Diageo, owns Seedlip and has already launched alcohol-free versions of its Gordon’s and Tanqueray gin brands in the UK, as well as a 0.0% abv Captain Morgan product.