Wetherby based drinks producer on course for 4000 per cent increase in sales of alcohol free tipple

Alcohol-free spirits producer Bax Botanics says it has seen ten times more sales in the first week of the year than it saw in the whole of January 2020.

Their two main products – Sea Buckthorn and Verbena – are sold in the cocktail bar chain The Botanist, and Booths supermarkets.

And, despite the January imposed lockdown, more than 6.5m people are thought to be taking part in Dry January this year, which is 67 per cent more than the 3.9m in 2020. One in four adults who drink alcohol said they're aiming to cut down their consumption generally in 2021.

Alcohol-free spirits use herbs, berries, roots and botanicals to create complex flavours that make them a substitute for drinks like gin. They can be enjoyed with mixers like tonic or ginger ale, or used in zero-alcohol cocktails.

Bax Botanics was launched in January 2019 by Chris and Rose Bax after 20 years of teaching about wild foods and flavours in their Yorkshire woodland. They distil their drinks in traditional beaten copper stills using ethically sourced and sustainable herbs and botanicals.

“The British public deserve great credit for making an effort to be so healthy at a time of such stress and worry. There are huge physical and mental benefits to cutting down on alcohol, and for those who want to cut down this year, there’s plenty of great-tasting alternatives out there.”

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