What started as a blog by local non-alcoholic drink enthusiasts has now turned into one of the leading U.S. sellers of alcohol-free beverages, attracting multi-million-dollar investments.
The Zero Proof, an Atlanta-based online retailer of non-alcoholic beverages, announced this week it has raised a seven-figure investment led by Asahi Group Beverages and Innovation, the U.S.-based venture capital arm of the multinational Japanese alcohol, food and beverage company Asahi Group Holdings.
The company did not release the amount of the investment, but said it was a Series A funding round, which is typically the first investment capital a company raises after seed and angel investing. The Zero Proof raised $2 million in seed funding in 2022, just a couple years after becoming an online retailer.
Sean Goldsmith and Trevor Wolfe first started the company as a blog with product reviews, interviews and booze-free city guides. Now, it imports and sells non-alcoholic wines, spirits, cocktails and more directly to consumers through its website as well as to wholesalers across the country. The Zero Proof also owns non-alcoholic wine brand Saint Viviana and Lapo’s, a line of Italian aperitifs and digestifs.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The company plans to use its new investment to hire salespeople, expand its nationwide distribution network and increase its base of retail accounts and wholesale portfolio.
“It’s an exciting time for the adult, non-alc category, and this new funding enables us to accelerate our already phenomenal growth by building out our omnichannel distribution and broadening our suite of high-quality, delicious NA beverages,” company CEO Goldsmith said in a statement.
The Zero Proof’s announcement came during Dry January, when some people give up drinking for a month. A Gallup poll from August suggests that a growing number of Americans think that even moderate drinking — one or two drinks a day — is bad for your health.
And Atlanta is also starting to see a growing scene of low- and non-alcoholic bars, stores and pop-ups alongside The Zero Proof, like the Sober Social.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
This investment is also not the first time that an alcohol brand has invested in a local beverage company. In 2021, Diageo North America, the parent company of brands like Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff, announced a 10-year investment to build Pronghorn, an Alpharetta-based company that funds Black-owned spirits brands, mentors them and helps facilitate internships and jobs in the industry for Black candidates.
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