In a constantly evolving and innovating category, non-alcoholic beverage brand NON has managed to stick the landing – growing from a backyard operation with a 20 litre pot, to 20,000 litre tanks and export arrangements in 15 countries. Keira Joyce spoke with founder, Aaron Trotman, about the company’s growth since starting out six years ago, and the space it’s carved out in the beverage sector.
Drinking in moderation and reaching for healthier options have become more common across Australia, and brands are swooping in to fill the market gap. According to beverage alcohol data and insights company, IWSR, Australia has continued to record a decline in total beverage alcohol volume, dropping three per cent over the past year.
Consumers have grown more ingredient savvy, and in a saturated market, quality and brand connection is what keeps beverages flying off the shelves. Enter alternative wine brand, NON, which launched its initial range in July 2019, inspired by non-alcoholic pairings in fine dining restaurants.
Source: NON
NON founder, Aaron Trotman, says the drinks were developed by a team of food and drink professionals with careful consideration of flavour balance.
“When we were starting out, I had a chef come in to help with the formulations. As the business grew and developed, we made some changes, but we still have chefs in the business – we just needed different skill sets as well for scaling up.
“There is a blend of talents within the cooking team in the business that can handle production every step of the way,” says Trotman.
“There was definitely a buzz from the get-go, I had people ordering them on the spot as soon as we launched. There was a bit of a plateau in the first few years – we didn't make the right decisions or have the right people on the team – but after making some changes it’s really started to take off.
“Last calendar year, we sold around 18,000 cases, and this year we're on track to do 30,000,” he says.
Although the label describes the bottles as a ‘wine alternative’, Trotman told Food & Drink Business that the brand leans towards the lifestyle segment, rather than being just a non-alcoholic wine.
“The overall health and wellness sector is where we’ve really seen success, maybe more than the non-alc segment,” he says.
“With the overall moderation trend and people changing their drinking habits, we offer a new option, but the range also appeals to consumers in the food, wellness, and experience categories.
“I like to think that while NON is enjoying the tail winds of the healthy lifestyle push, we’ve definitely been formative in it as well, playing our part by creating a tone for the brand, and focusing on transparency and quality.”
Achieving complicated consistency
The production process for NON can be complicated as it uses a variety of ingredients that aren’t necessarily available year-round, as well as a wide range of equipment.
“In our core range, we try to stay as consistent as possible using natural ingredients, which, as you can imagine, is really difficult,” says Trotman.
“We didn’t really consider the scale that we would get to, and how much equipment we would need to dehydrate, freeze-dry, and undertake all the methods used to concentrate the flavour and preserve the ingredients.
“We need to buy the verjuice in season, so we put that order in around December. The same applies for our raspberries. We bought 20 tonnes of raw raspberries this year, and that was freeze-dried down to two tonnes, because we remove 90 per cent of the water weight. The same goes for our dehydrated orange discs.”
Producing NON requires the ingredients have to be treated very delicately, with several methods used to extract the most flavour possible, so that consumers can taste everything on the label.
“Depending on the product, it can take days to bring a batch together, and the environment can affect the process,” he says.
“The temperature and the humidity of the kitchens can change what we need to do to the ingredients, so there’s no exact formula, a lot of the process is driven by palate. Then we send it off to bottling, and ship it to countries around the world.”
Export hurdles and future goals
Export markets opened up quickly for NON, with the Asia-Pacific region also experiencing a drop in alcohol consumption, and increased demand for tasty and better-for-you beverage options.
Within a year of launch, the range was headed to Japan and Singapore, and has since expanded to 15 countries.
Trotman says the regulatory differences between markets were challenging to learn, while more recently, global instability has slowed down the supply chain.
“The US is a beast, with every state having different laws. In New York there’s a law that says you can’t sell non-alcoholic wine in liquor stores, and grocery stores can’t sell wine. That requires a lot of lobbying, which isn’t an issue in other states we operate in,” he says.
“Shipping times are taking longer with the Red Sea still being blocked off. We have an 18-month best before date and we want to get products into other markets as quickly as possible, so we just have to deal with it. Then there are some difficult requirements for different countries’ customs processes and added taxes.”
Trotman says the next step for NON is to keep building the brand, which is gaining international acclaim, and looking towards the European and Chinese markets for its next expansion stage.
This year, NON1 Salted Raspberry & Chamomile was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2025 Sommeliers Choice Awards in Chicago, a Gold at the World Alcohol-Free Awards in London, and a Great Taste star from the Guild of Fine Food in the UK.
“Winning one gold was huge. Winning three across London and Chicago? That’s proof we’re building something truly world-class,” says Trotman.
NON’s next chapter is just beginning, shaping a lifestyle brand that speaks to evolving consumer values – and proving that Australian innovation can hold its own on the world stage.
This article first appeared in the August/September 2025 edition of Food & Drink Business magazine.
