Simon Poulin, from business owner to “mindful drinker”
For the past two years, Simon Poulin, 35, co-founder of Upside Drinks, an online platform selling alcohol-free wines, beers, mocktails and spirits, has been seeing an unprecedented shift in consumers’ relationship with alcohol.
Mindful drinking represents a lucrative business model, based on people’s need to find a healthy alternative in a post-pandemic world.
Mocktails, sparkling ginger drinks, sparkling tea: Simon Poulin keeps the alcohol-free drinks flowing. “I’m celebrating two years of sobriety,” reads a post on his LinkedIn account. It is an attention-grabbing statement about a publicly declared sobriety, but one that has been misunderstood.
In popular culture, sobriety is understood to mean the absence of alcohol. However, the dictionary definition describes someone who behaves with restraint. That is the very principle of mindful drinking. The practice involves being aware of why and how much alcohol you consume. Being moderate does not mean abstaining. Yet since his announcement, people have reacted and put the entrepreneur to the test at events.
“If I decide to have a small drink, I’ll hear, ‘Oh, I saw you! Oh, I caught you! I thought you didn’t drink.’” It was a reaction he had not expected, one that challenged him and led to a necessary clarification. “Instead of loudly proclaiming that I’m sober, I’m going to loudly proclaim that I’m a mindful drinker... You can’t change the definition of a word,” he continues, “and I’m trying to do that by saying my sobriety isn’t yours,” he sums up.
His sobriety therefore means having between five and ten drinks at most over the year, while also putting himself in his customers’ shoes. “It was the business that made me rethink my alcohol consumption,” reflects the Trois-Rivières native, who left his hometown at 18 to “head for the big city, HEC Montréal.”
He has come a long way. At 24, he opened his first café. Driven by a desire to create and a need for freedom, he became an entrepreneur in order to pass on a set of values as well. For Simon Poulin, the spark behind Upside Drinks, the online platform selling alcohol-free beer, wine, mocktails and spirits, came two years ago.
It happened when he began feeling the benefits of going alcohol-free after a Dry January, a post-holiday break from alcohol. “I felt the positive effects on my body, on my mind... I was exercising much more, I liked my new lifestyle... In the end, I was happier,” he realizes.
At that point, he and his business partner were deep into researching their future alcohol-free wine and beer startup. His partner wanted to stop drinking completely for personal reasons, particularly after working as a promoter and DJ. Having a choice matters, and in this case it was almost impossible. “When supermarkets had options, they were very limited, and when there were options, they couldn’t meet demand. The shelves were often empty.”
“Mindful drinking: more than a trend, a movement.”
That observation was enough to convince them to get on board. Today, the alcohol-free wave is gaining momentum and offering a healthy alternative to alcoholic beverages. The figures bear this out: the SAQ (Société des alcools du Québec) recorded a 40% increase in the province last December compared with the previous year. Groups such as Pernod Ricard, Diageo (Guinness, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan), AB InBev (Corona 0%) and Heineken already produce these kinds of beverages.
For several years now, Germany and England have led the way in adopting alcohol-free beverages. In Canada and the United States, the trend is gaining ground, with the market expected to grow by 25% over the next five years.
However, according to the entrepreneur, the movement remains modest, at just 1% or 2% compared with the alcohol market. Rethinking alcohol consumption is also becoming a major issue for every generation. “Generation Z (millennials) consumes 20% less than Generation Y, which in turn consumes 20% less than baby boomers,” he observes.
This gradual consumer shift is more than a trend: it is a movement. Alcohol-free bars are already appearing, including ZERO Cocktail Bar in Toronto and Bevees in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Some U.S. cities, such as Austin, Texas, Denver, Colorado, and New York, are also developing this culture.
Priorities are changing, and mental health has become an essential consideration since the pandemic. Today, after two years in business, the company reports annual revenue of between $5 million and $10 million. The two entrepreneurs’ ambition is clear: “to become the platform that makes alcohol-free drinks accessible both in Quebec and across the rest of Canada.” After Canada, the next step will be the United States. The French expression “putting water in your wine”—meaning to lower your expectations—certainly does not apply to Simon Poulin and his partner.
Article: Hélène Lequitte Photo credit: Jordan Jacquier.
WHAT ARE ALCOHOL-FREE WINE AND BEER?
Alcohol-free wines, beers, spirits and cocktails are made using various dealcoholization methods to reproduce the same aromas and sensations as their alcoholic equivalents. To be labelled alcohol-free, they must contain less than 0.5% alcohol.
DO THEY TASTE THE SAME?
Some beverages reproduce their alcoholic equivalents more effectively than others, but they will certainly never be 100% identical. I often advise people to moderate their expectations, because the warming effect of alcohol will always be missing, and sometimes so will what gives wine its smoothness and body. However, many products achieve excellent results and satisfy the desire to have a drink.
IF THE MINDFUL DRINKER HAD A MOTTO, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
“Remember your why.” Reducing or stopping your alcohol consumption is not an easy journey. There will be more difficult moments when the urge to drink alcohol is strong. Always remember why you decided to cut back, and all the positive effects it brings you. (Perhaps the memory of a hangover will encourage you to choose an alcohol-free drink on a night out.)