More and more young people are following the sober curious movement and becoming cautious about what they drink.
In 2024, Statistics Canada reported that 67 per cent of those aged 18 to 22 had gone a week without alcohol.
Local businesses are leaning into the movement but are facing challenges.
Dana Jackson, owner of With Grace Marketplace in Pickering, has experienced issues distributing her products to consumers, even before U.S. tariffs were imposed.
She says duties and import fees are dynamic and expensive, she says, making it unpredictable to budget or anticipate costs from one day to the next.
“I’ll pay a $100 in duties and then on Thursday for the same volume $300. I don’t know why, but the Canadian policies just fluctuate, and it’s so hard,” said Jackson.
She also says courier fees are also “out of control” and not all her products make it to consumers.
“Sixty per cent of my products actually make it to where they were intended to go,” she said.
Countries such as the U.K. are doing well in the non-alcoholic business and their drinking culture helps uplift the sober curious movement, according to Jeanelle Robles, owner of Oak Roots and The Unity Social based in Durham Region.
She was inspired by alcohol-free bars in the U.K, which helped her build on her business idea.
She wanted to bring more alcohol-free beverages and create a bar here in Canada.
“U.K., I think they really set the bar high in terms of quality, and it’s almost become so normal that it’s not like ‘oh, look at this sober bar, it’s look at this incredible place with nice drinks,’” she said.
According to Grand View Research, the alcohol-free beverage market in the U.K. is expected to reach $51.3 million (USD) in revenue by 2023 and an annual growth rate of seven per cent within 2023 to 2030.
Robles also experienced the alcohol-free beverage culture in New York and realized she could have fun without alcohol and get the same feeling as drinking, minus the bad parts of the experience.
This knowledge solidified her goals for Unity Social and what she wanted to bring out of this experience to Canada.
“I’m trying to create the same sense of euphoria and joy, but on such a conscious level that people remember the next day,” she said.
Gabriel Norori, owner of Crafted Art Bar in Oshawa, said this industry is growing but entrepreneurs like him are finding solutions to show it some love.
“We’re getting inquiries on throwing such events and we’re the business of teaming up with cool venues,” he said.
“We’re very confident in what we can do and we know the shift is there. It just needs love like anything needs a little TLC, and that’s where we’re part of it. We’re part of the solution.”
Robles plans to host pop-up events monthly, and she has already hosted them in January and February at The Souk Whitby.