ILLUSTRATION
JAMIE CULLUM
it’s fair to say
that Swedes have always
had a knack for thinking outside the box.
From flat-pack furniture to paper money,
Swedish ideas that at first seem unusual
– silly, even – have a habit of catching on.
The country’s latest trend, though, is surely too off
the wall to inspire imitation? I’m talking about going
out and
not
having a drink, a concept being pioneered
by Stockholm’s first booze-free club night.
“We wanted to show that you can party and dance
without being drunk,” says Johan Frick, one of the folks
behind Klubb Sobeer
(klubbsobeer.se)
. It’s a lot like
other nights out, with bright lights, DJs and the usual
sweaty dancing – except that the raspberry mojitos and
citrus daiquiris are all free from alcohol.
Since 2011, when Klubb Sobeer began, other alcohol-
free club nights have begun popping up around
Sweden and can now be found as far as
Gothenburg. It’s part of a wider shift in the
Scandinavian nation, which already has
some of Europe’s toughest restrictions
on buying drinks. Motivated by
demand from health-conscious
diners, some of the most expensive restaurants in big
cities have also started offering ‘grown-up’ soft drinks,
such as alcohol-free wine, to accompany their meals.
At Systembolaget, the only Swedish retail outlet with
permission to sell drinks stronger than 3.5%, alcohol-
free is consistently the strongest growth area. This
summer, the government-owned monopoly sold more
than 770,000 litres of booze-free drinks from its stores
– an increase of 7.6% on the previous summer.
“In recent years, the sales of alcohol-free beverages
have increased by 25-30% annually, and the sales
continue to increase,” says Therese Elmgren, of
Systembolaget. “More people are choosing a healthy
lifestyle, and the quality and range of alcohol-free
products have improved.”
This trend could, like so many Swedish exports, gain
traction abroad, but it’s important to keep things
in perspective: less than 1% of all
Systembolaget’s sales come from non-
alcoholic drinks. Still, what may seem
like a crazy idea in the midst of party
season might be more acceptable when
the hangovers kick in next month.
D O W N T O
B U S I N E S S
S T O C K H O L M
“Dry andmighty”
At a time of year when most of us are brewing hangovers,
Steven Vickers
reports
from Stockholm where alcohol-free fun is a growing business
What may
seem like a crazy idea
in party season might
be acceptable
when the hangovers kick in
1 3 2
V I E W P O I N T S
