Over the past few years, non-alcoholic beverages have boomed nationwide.
Spencer Nevins, president of the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, says he’s hearing reports of growth by as much as 20 percent.
Non-alcoholic products still only make up about one percent of the alcohol market, but entrepreneurs like Loghan Call see a huge opportunity to create something different.
Loghan launched a catering business in Traverse City in 2018. During multi-course dinners, he was disheartened by the amount of alcohol guests consumed.
He and his mother started experimenting with zero-proof elixirs and intermixed them with wine pairings throughout the evening.
Roman Albaugh, owner of The Bartending Company, saw what they were doing and told Loghan he’d buy his zero-proof spirits on the spot.
That was Loghan’s lightbulb moment.
During the pandemic, he and his mother, Naomi Call, started tinkering with different blends.
Not all were tasty or worth keeping, but they ultimately zeroed in on three — a citrus botanical, a floral berry and an earthy root blend.
Audacia Elixirs was born.
Their big vision is to change the drinking culture by creating a new category of non-alcoholic elixirs for bars and restaurants.
They’re on track to appear in local restaurants and bars in June.