Non-alcoholic beverages may soon be sold in New York liquor stores

A pair of bills in the New York State Senate and Assembly would allow the sale of non-alcoholic versions of adult beverages in wine and liquor stores.

The bills come as supermarkets in the state have renewed their efforts to gain the ability to sell wine in their stores, setting up a potential trade-off.

“Increasing the products which a liquor store can offer to consumers only makes sense in a broader discussion which allows the grocery industry to also offer wine,” Mike Durant, president and CEO of the Food Industry Alliance of New York, told Supermarket News. “This legislation represents only half of a broader consideration that lawmakers in Albany should be having. It is long past due for New York to join the majority of the rest of the country and allow retail food stores to offer wine and spirits to shoppers. To expand the products offered by liquor stores absent modernization of New York’s archaic alcohol laws and allowing grocery stores to offer spirits is nonsensical.”

The bills to allow liquor stores to sell non-alcoholic versions of beer, wine, and liquor also come as alcohol-free beverages and mocktails have gained increasing interest from consumers seeking to cut back on their alcohol consumption. Sales of non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits grew 35% in 2023, reaching more than $565 million, according to a recent report from research firm NIQ.

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The trend is forecasted to continue, according to NIQ, which noted that 45% of Gen Z consumers who are old enough to drink have never had alcohol. Many are shunning alcohol for health reasons, NIQ said, but some have also adopted using cannabis instead as it has become legalized and more widely available.

As a result of these trends, wine and liquor stores have seen significant sales erosion since the pandemic, according to The New York Post, which first reported on the new bills seeking to allow sales of non-alcoholic beverages in such stores. The bills, which have been introduced in committees in the state senate and assembly, would allow wine and liquor stores to tap into this growing source of revenue.

“It’s incredibly important to us to support our liquor stores,” N.Y. State Sen. Michelle Hinchley, who introduced the Senate version of the bill, told The Post.

New York is one of 17 states that currently do not allow wine and liquor stores to sell non-alcoholic versions of beer, wine, and spirits, The Post reported.

On the flip side, New York is also one of 12 states that prohibit grocery stores from selling wine. Bills allowing supermarkets to offer wine were introduced in the state legislature last year and again this year, amid strong opposition from wine and liquor stores.

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