Welcome back to the Bread. Did you enjoy your weekend? If you’re part of the growing sober curious movement, you may have kicked back on your day off with a booze-free beverage instead of a beer.

Alcohol Brands Launch Non-Alcoholic Options to Meet Demand

More alcohol brands are embracing Dry January and the overall shift away from alcoholic beverages. This makes sense as Gen Zers continue to embrace the sober curious lifestyle, drastically reducing the previously ripe young adult market. Alcohol brands need new strategies to stay relevant for Gen Z.

Some brands—like Tito’s Vodka—are exploring new uses for their flagship product. The brand teamed up with Martha Stewart to prove vodka serves more purposes than one. Meanwhile, Heineken and Marvel joined forces to promote the new Ant-Man movie and Heineken’s new non-alcoholic beer—Paul Rudd shrinks the beer’s ABV to create Heineken 0.0. But Heiniken definitely has some competition.

The days of disgusting non-alcoholic options brewed as an afterthought are gone. In fact, brands like Athletic Brewing Company, Tilden Cocktails and Curious Elixirs only create non-alcoholic offerings, focusing more on craft and taste than scrambling to address a “new” market segment. Like everyone, people abstaining from alcohol want to feel included—not judged or infantilized. This means cool, clutchable containers full of varying options that aren’t Shirley Temples.

Societal norms shift and the brands who can shift with them and roll with the punches end up coming out on top. Partnering with influencers and established media figures to bolster new initiatives is a smart move to get the word out about new products or new uses for older offerings. But the brands who put customers—and their drink desires—first will see the most success.

Around the Web

• TikTok is testing podcast capabilities—Spotify, beware.

• Lucky Girl Syndrome (Gen Z’s version of The Secret) is sweeping TikTok—proving Gen Z wants to think positively.

• Pepsi retooled its zero-sugar formula for its first Super Bowl ad in 3 years.

• Speaking of Pepsi, Burger King nabbed Pepsi’s Mountain Dew CMO Pat O’Toole to Reclaim the Flame.

• More international Twitter offices are shutting down in an attempt to cut costs.

Just Can't Get Enough

Horror movie M3GAN asks, “What if Chucky of Child’s Play was a menace because of technology, not voodoo?”, touching on fears of constant surveillance from our devices.

• The marketing surrounding the film doesn’t shy away from the Chucky comparison.

• But the movie went viral way before this, thanks to an unsettling TikTok dance.

Do you think alcohol brands can handle the pivot? Do you think they’ll have Lucky Girl Syndrome with the Gen Z market? Will M3GAN counterintuitively popularize “smart” dolls? Reply and let us know, or simply share your version of M3GAN’s dance.

Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you on Wednesday!