What are the best non-alcoholic drinks for wedding toasts that don’t taste like fake booze?
Töst’s sangria sold out in 10 days, showing people want real flavor, not just fake booze. See why botanical drinks are winning the $5B alcohol recession.
Key Takeaways
What: Töst’s botanical beverages are leading the $5B non-alcoholic market.
Why: Consumers now prioritize unique, sophisticated flavors over simple alcohol replicas, evidenced by Töst’s 10-day sangria sell-out.
How: Using premium bases like white tea and elderberry creates an elevated social experience for weddings and upscale events.
When a new drink hits the market and disappears from shelves in just 10 days, it usually means something significant is shifting in how people spend their Friday nights. That is exactly what happened when Töst released its blood orange and red grape sangria flavor last summer. While many brands are busy trying to create a “fake” version of gin or whiskey, the real energy in the beverage world is moving toward something entirely different.
The standard assumption in the “sober curious” world is that people want a non-alcoholic drink to mimic the burn and bite of traditional spirits. However, the data suggests a counter-intuitive reality: the biggest winners aren’t those mimicking alcohol, but those offering a completely new flavor profile that stands on its own. People aren’t looking for a compromise; they are looking for an upgrade.
The 10-Day Sell-Out Phenomenon
Töst launched in 2017 with a focus on white tea and elderberry, positioning itself as a sophisticated beverage rather than just a substitution. By leaning into complex botanicals rather than trying to hide the lack of ethanol, they tapped into a specific kind of “flavor velocity.” Their social media presence focuses on upscale weddings and dinner parties, treating the drink as the guest of honor rather than a consolation prize for the designated driver. When that sangria flavor vanished in less than two weeks, it proved that consumers are more interested in seasonal, high-end culinary experiences than they are in “alcohol-free” replicas.
Riding the Alcohol Recession
This shift is part of a larger meta-trend known as the Alcohol Recession. In the United States alone, the market for non-alcoholic drinks is on track to hit $5 billion by 2028. While the broader category is growing, non-alcoholic spirits are seeing a massive surge with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 60%.
Other brands are seeing similar success by carving out their own niches. Ghia, which produces a fruity non-alcoholic aperitif, has reached a valuation of $50 million since its 2020 launch. These numbers show that the demand for “elevated” drinking experiences is no longer a niche hobby—it’s a major market force.
Format and Function: From Bottles to Cans
To keep up with this demand, brands are changing how they show up in your fridge. Töst recently expanded from its signature sleek glass bottles into ready-to-drink cans, making the “elevated” experience more portable. This move has helped them land in more than 8,000 stores across 10 different countries.
At the same time, the market is splitting between those who want flavor and those who want a different kind of “feeling.” For people who want to relax without the morning-after headache, cannabis-infused drinks have exploded. Between 2020 and 2025, the market for THC seltzers grew from a tiny $400,000 to a staggering $463.6 million. That number is expected to climb past $620 million by the end of this year.
The New Social Standard
The success of white tea and elderberry bases over traditional “spirit” flavors indicates a permanent change in social habits. Whether it’s the botanical complexity of a sparkling tea or the rapid growth of THC-infused options, the goal for the modern consumer is no longer about finding the best way to get a buzz—it’s about finding a drink that tastes good enough to sell out in 10 days. The “sophisticated experience” has officially replaced the simple substitution.