Athletic Brewing Company: Crafting the U.S. Non-Alcoholic Beer Category

Athletic Brewing Company ("Athletic," for short) was founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker in 2017. In creating Athletic, Shufelt and Walker opened the first U.S. brewery and taproom fully devoted to the production of non-alcoholic (NA) craft beer. By 2021, Athletic was generating around $15 million in annual revenue, and struggling to keep up with consumer demand. Athletic's success was notable in light of long-standing stigmas associated with drinking non-alcoholic beer, particularly in U.S. markets. For example, there was a historical societal stigma surrounding non-alcoholic beer as a result of assumptions that people who chose not to drink alcohol are abstaining because of a problematic relationship with alcohol. Athletic overcame this barrier, and found early success, by specifically addressing the needs of athletes who wanted to enjoy a great beer and be included in the social ritual of drinking without compromising their athletic performance. However, Athletic's success was also part of a larger cultural shift and increased receptivity to non-alcoholic beer in the U.S., which subsequently attracted stiff competition from both small and large brewers who created their own non-alcoholic offerings. Can Athletic continue its upward trajectory or will it be squeezed out by competitors? Will the bubbling embrace of non-alcoholic beer in the U.S. become mainstream or will it prove to be a passing fad?

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