Social Beverage Conference Recap

What do a nightcap, a bonfire, and a party trick have in common?

They're all occasions in the expanding world of NA beverages—where euphoric tonics, adaptogenic sodas, and mind-altering spritzers reimagine what drinking feels like.

During yesterday's Listen Ventures 'So Curious' Social Beverage Conference, candid panels explored alcohol alternatives. This isn't about what's missing from your glass but the stories these drinks tell about our moods and mornings after.

Key Learnings:

1. Occasions, Not Ingredients, Lead the Conversation: Brands that win aren’t selling THC or nootropics—they’re selling “the unwind,” “the zone in,” or “the relief.” The best ideas didn't start with cannabinoids or adaptogens, but with human context:

Why are people reaching for this can?

What’s the moment they’re trying to shape, or shift?

Smart brands are "owning the next day" mentioned Taylor Foxman, being the beverage that helps people feel better, not worse. Start with the nightcap, expand to the bonfire. These emotional footholds create something bigger.

2. Branding Carries Extra Weight: "When the product and feeling are new, packaging does more heavy lifting," noted Evan from hiyo. Some brands like Flyers Cocktail Company use nostalgic back-bar design cues for familiarity. Others like Happi Lisa Hurwitz use a "modern-day Tupperware party" approach: meet people where they are, let them try, feel, and have an experience—together.

3. Sessionability, Microdosing, and the Fluid Future: Forget the binary of drink/don’t drink. The future is fluid. These drinks create a nuanced culture: one beer, one THC spritz, one adaptogen soda—a choose-your-own adventure of vibes. Sessionability and microdosing matter because when the goal is a subtle float, not a rocket ship, people pace themselves.

4. Education Through Desire: People want to feel good—that's the anchor. Not wellness charts but storytelling rooted in pleasure and curiosity. You're buying a feeling.Call it calm, float, clarity. Breakthrough brands spark desire through mood and memory. When products are unfamiliar, what matters is how they make you feel—and how that feeling fits your life.

That's the shift: from substance to sensation, from selling cans to selling contexts.

Will these beverages have a hard seltzer moment? Maybe, but perhaps they don't need one. The opportunity may be in building microcultures for people who want to feel more and drink less.

The question is: Who will define this category's codes and rituals? The products exist - whether alternative or additive - and the desire for these experiences grows. Now it's about designing the bridge.

Maybe it was never about 'alcohol' in the first place, but a shared connection. With these new categories, we can revisit that search for better nights, softer mornings, and shared moments.

At Interact Brands, we help brands build the emotional fluency to make that connection stick. Make the connection that matters.