Meet the Trailblazers Leading the Surging Non-Alcoholic Beverage Movement
This article is a part of The Daily Pour’s Sober October Week, a full week of content dedicated to the phenomenon that is Sober October — a month during which many lay off booze altogether or perhaps take it easy. This week focuses on all things non-alcoholic, from beer to wine to spirits to functional beverages and beyond. Click here to check out the rest of our Sober October content.
12. Douglas Watters & Alex Highsmith
Left to right: Douglas Watters and Alex Highsmith (Photos: Spirited Away)
Wanting to reduce his own alcohol consumption, Douglas Watters opened Spirited Away, a non-alcoholic bottle shop in the heart of Manhattan, in the fall of 2020 alongside Alex Highsmith. His goal was to provide a welcoming space for every New Yorker who wants to explore and discover the world’s best adult nonalcoholic beverages.
Highsmith is co-owner and general manager of Spirited Away. A Utah-born NYC transplant with a deep love of sobriety culture, creativity and small businesses, Highsmith has found her happy place at Spirited Away, where every day is an opportunity to make social spaces in New York more accessible by offering the best in non-alc.
11. Roman Sydorenko
(Photo: Ace of Cups)
Sydorenko began his career in tech, selling enterprise software across Eastern Europe and Central Asia by 30 while cultivating a love for fine dining and wine. After a decade running dating app Pure, a health scare forced him to rethink his relationship with alcohol. Discovering sophisticated non-alcoholic alternatives, Sydorenko became a champion of flavorful, complex beverages. Through his angel syndicate, Ace of Cups, he invests in founders crafting skillful, authentic non-alcoholic drinks, advocating for mindful drinking in fine dining and beyond.
10. Taylor Foxman
(Photo: The Industry Collective)
Taylor Foxman, founder of The Industry Collective, has spent over a decade helping emerging non-alc as well as alcoholic brands connect with investors and grow their businesses. She leverages her industry expertise in communications and brand strategy to support scaling and market entry. Beyond The Industry Collective, Foxman serves on the New York Board for Step Up, co-hosts industry podcasts “Honest Retail” and “Three Tier,” contributes to Rolling Stone and was recognized on PR Week’s 40 Under 40 list.
9. Laura Silverman
(Photo: Zero Proof Nation)
Laura Silverman is an alcohol-free trailblazer who began her sobriety journey at 24 and went on to found Zero Proof Nation, a platform and resource hub devoted to highlighting non-alcoholic beverages and the culture behind their growth. She serves in advisory roles for various organizations, sharing her expertise and lived experience.
Silverman is a two-time judge at the World Alcohol Free Awards in London, a judge and Master of Ceremonies for the Zero Proof Choice Awards in New York, a workshop leader, collegiate guest lecturer and recipient of Sans Bar Academy’s Leader and Innovator of the Year Award (2023) and NA Hall of Fame. Her work has made her a guiding voice for mindful drinking and the sober-curious community worldwide.
8. Derek Brown
(Photo: Drink Company)
Derek Brown is an author, beverage consultant and founder of Drink Company. A former award-winning bartender and owner of the acclaimed Columbia Room, Brown is a leading advocate for mindful drinking. He authored “Spirits, Sugar, Water, Bitters and Mindful Mixology,” earning recognition for his thought leadership in the beverage industry. He is the co-founder of Mindful Drinking Fest, host of “The Mindful Drinking Podcast” and author of the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s Mindful Drinking course. This year, Brown was selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar, joining the prestigious program for leaders driving positive social change.
7. Melanie Masarin
(Photo: Melanie Masarin/Instagram)
Melanie Masarin is the founder of Ghia, a non-alcoholic aperitif brand inspired by her Mediterranean upbringing and a love of convivial moments. Drawing on childhood memories of summers spent cooking with her grandmother and enjoying the ritual of aperitivo, Masarin created Ghia to offer a sophisticated, transportive drinking experience without the alcohol. Under her leadership, Ghia has grown to include multiple offerings, gained national recognition, and expanded into major retail locations. Masarin is more than a founder; she is also an influencer in her own right for design, fashion and food and has secured partnerships with J.Crew, Airbnb and Christofle.
6. Roberto Vanin & Gary Read
Left to right: Gary Read and Roberto Vanin (Photos: LinkedIn)
BOLLE Sparkling’s founders, Roberto Vanin and Gary Read, have transformed the NA wine world with their signature secondary fermentation method, which restores texture, finesse and balance to dealcoholized wines. Their approach delivers alcohol-free sparkling wines that rival traditional counterparts in taste and complexity, earning acclaim in blind tastings and global competitions. BOLLE has become a symbol of innovation and good taste in the non-alcoholic beverage industry.
5. Murray Paterson
(Photo: MURI)
Murray Paterson left a career in finance at J.P. Morgan to pursue his passion for food and drink, eventually falling in love with fermentation while working across the cider industry. A stint as a distiller at Copenhagen’s innovative Empirical Spirits honed his expertise in layering multiple fermentations to create depth and complexity, an approach he now brings to his brand, Muri.
Paterson’s beverages, which he prefers to call fermented blends rather than non-alcoholic alternatives, draw inspiration from things he is drinking like sake and sherry and incorporate unusual ingredients like wild rose butter or even ants for acidity. Paterson’s vision is a future where drinks are celebrated for their flavor and craft, not their alcohol content.
4. Rachel Martin
(Photo: Oceano Wines)
Rachel Martin is the founder and CEO of Oceano Wines and has over 20 years of winemaking experience. With Oceano Zero, she pioneered luxury non-alcoholic wines that balance flavor and personal agency, and with Oceano Ultra, she introduced the first ultra-low-alcohol wine in the U.S. Her work has redefined what fine wine can look like without alcohol, emphasizing mindful enjoyment and sustainability. Most recently, Martin created the first NA wine professional certification program, called AFicioNAdo. The program, launched in August 2025, provides professional training on alcohol-free and non-alcoholic wines, covering production, sensory evaluation, market trends, labeling and service.
3. Katja Bernegger & Patrick Bayer
From left to right, Patrick Bayer and Katja Bernegger (Photo: Zeronimo Wine)
Founders of Zeronimo Wine, Katja Bernegger and Patrick Bayer bring craftsmanship and credibility to non-alcoholic wine. Using award-winning base wines, vacuum distillation, patented aroma recovery and oak aging, they produce dry, elegant wines with complexity rarely seen in the NA space. Zeronimo’s Leonis Blend was named the Best Non-Alcoholic Red Wine by Wine Enthusiast, proving that non-alcoholic wines can be nuanced, sophisticated and truly worth savoring.
2. Ben Branson
(Photo: Sylva)
Regarded as the “Founding Father of Non-Alc,” Ben Branson created Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit. Drawing inspiration from historical herbal remedies and a desire for refined adult alternatives, he built a brand emphasizing botanicals, sustainability, and flavor complexity. Branson continues to champion innovation through Pollen Projects, the dedicated venture studio behind Sylva, an aged non-alcoholic spirit made with British fruit wood and malted barley, and seasn, a zero-proof bitters brand. He is also the founder of The Hidden 20%, a nonprofit and podcast highlighting neurodivergent voices.
1. Dr. Ludwig Narziß
The first modern non-alcoholic beer, Clausthaler, was developed by Dr. Ludwig Narziß and his team at Binding-Brauerei in Frankfurt, Germany. Launched in 1979, Clausthaler pioneered a fermentation process that stopped alcohol formation before it could develop, preserving authentic pilsner flavor. Hailed as “Der Bier mit dem Biergeschmack,” which means “the beer with the beer taste,” it set the benchmark for NA beer, winning international awards and inspiring the modern non-alcoholic beer industry.
Although he died in 2022, Narziß’s legacy and impact on the non-alcoholic movement will live on eternally.
