The New Ritual: Healthy Non-Alcoholic Drinks Category
A new wave of non-alcoholic drinks is reshaping the culture of social drinking. Brands like Something & Nothing, Mellows, Dayse, and Mateo are building a parallel drinking culture…one that’s calm-forward, functional, and designed for a reset rather than a blur.
There’s a new category bubbling up…and it’s not craft beer, natural wine, or the next hard seltzer. It’s the rise of the healthy non-alcoholic drink.
For decades, “going dry” meant soda water, juice, or the dreaded lime cordial. But lately, a flood of new brands has reshaped the space. They’re not pitching abstinence. They’re selling rituals, vibes, and actual functional benefits.
Personally, I’ve gone dry for a stretch and started exploring what’s out there. Maybe it’s the algorithms, maybe it’s the times, but suddenly my Friday night vino feels negotiable.
I’ve bought bottles, cans, and blends from the new wave, and I’m loving the shift. It’s not about denial…it’s about discovery.
Take yerba maté, long popular in South America, now woven into sleek drinks promising better sleep, reduced stress, no hangovers. Or blends infused with L-Theanine, designed to calm the nervous system and reset your week. The messaging here is clear: this is not a compromise. It’s a future of social drinking built around a calm-forward ritual.
And it’s not just about function — it’s about brand. Labels like Something & Nothing, Dayse, and Mateo are carving a space with distinct voices. Minimalist design, playful tone, unexpected ingredients. These aren’t “alternatives to alcohol.” They’re lifestyle brands in their own right.
“For decades, “going dry” meant soda water, juice, or the dreaded lime cordial.”
What we’re witnessing is shapeshifting in the drinks world. A new category with a new voice — one that speaks to wellness, culture, and community, as much as it does to taste.
The hangover of Friday night might be fading, but a new ritual is rising in its place.
The rise of this category comes alive in the way brands are reframing what “a drink” means. Three standouts:
Dayse
Dayse positions itself not as a “non-alcoholic alternative” but as a functional, plant-powered beverage in its own right. Infused with adaptogens and botanicals, it speaks to a calm-forward ritual: something you drink to reset, not just to replace. Their branding avoids the clichés of wellness, instead using design and tone that feels modern, confident, and lifestyle-driven — a deliberate move to shape a new drinking culture rather than live in the shadow of the old one.
Something & Nothing
With its stripped-back packaging and minimalist aesthetic, Something & Nothing makes a statement: non-alcoholic doesn’t have to mean boring. By elevating natural ingredients (like hibiscus, yuzu, or cucumber seltzers) and wrapping them in a design language that feels more like fashion than food, the brand reframes what “a drink” looks like. The case study here is about voice — how tone and aesthetic can position a functional drink as aspirational.
Matéo Yerba Mate
Yerba Mate has been a cultural staple in South America for centuries, but brands like Mateo are reintroducing it to modern audiences through sleek, design-led packaging and functional storytelling. Instead of being pitched as an exotic tea, it’s shapeshifted into a social beverage — one that gives lift and focus without the spikes and crashes of caffeine. The case study shows how cultural heritage can be reframed for contemporary wellness culture.
My Plan B is Plan A
What is Plan B for creatives?
Plan A is usually made up of about five things happening at once anyway.
Design is never just one thing.
One day it’s branding.
The next day it’s a video shoot.
And the day after that is scribbling on some paper.
I think that’s the beauty of the creative world you can slide around.
Design bleeds into art.
Art blurs into photography.
Photography sparks a product idea.
And suddenly what looked like a side hustle was the real thing all along.
So what is Plan B for creatives? That’s just Plan A doing its thing in another room.
Art Is Dangerous
When art stops making us shift, it can become decoration.
“Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions; when it ceases to be dangerous, you don’t want it.”
I saw this quote by Duke Ellington and thought he is pretty spot on...not because it’s edgy for the sake of it, but because real art does something.
It nudges, interrupts and stirs a feeling you didn’t plan on having. When art stops making us shift, it can become decoration.
I’d rather feel rattled than forget it was ever there.
Ideas are like fish
A David Keith Lynch quote about idea’s.
If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful.”
David Keith Lynch
Filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor.
