The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?

Understanding the low alcohol and alcohol-free category

Join global mindful drinking experts Club Soda as they take you through the world of alcohol-free drinks. We welcome you to the Tasting Room in Drury Lane, the UK’s first low and alcohol-free specialist store.

We offer specialist sessions for industry leaders, market researchers, academics and others who want to gain insight into the low alcohol and alcohol-free brands and consumers.

Laura

Club Soda's unrivalled expertise

The UK alcohol-free drinks market has only existed in its current form since about 2017. Club Soda’s 2016 Nudging Pubs research set us on a path to work out how to increase choice everywhere alcohol is sold.

In just eight years, we have built an amazing wealth of knowledge and expertise in this area of drinks. We have held ten mindful drinking festivals, a pop-up store, and now a permanent Covent Garden venue. We have undertaken several pieces of research as the low and no alcohol market has evolved. 

Founder Laura Willoughby was voted one of 2022’s 100 most influential women in hospitality by CODE, and named number 16 in Drinks Retailing’s latest Top 100 Most Influential People in Drink. 

The Club Soda Tasting Room won the Drinks Business magazine’s Independent Retailer of the Year award in May 2023, only six months after opening.  

Market Orientation sessions

These sessions are designed for people working with or alongside the drinks industry to understand the low and no drinks markets better. 

We tailor these to your needs and can offer you an overview of a particular segment (beer, wine, mood enhancing, spirits etc) and the type of data you may be interested in seeing. We also share direct experiences from customers within the store.

With a welcome drink, our Founder Laura Willoughby MBE an our expert team will take you through a tailored programme that could include the following:

– The market and the current trends

– Why this market has grown and what is driving it globally

– Who the consumers are and what they want 

– The market by category and who are their consumers 

– Which brands and categories do well and why

– Challenges for the sector from price point to market penetration 

– Low vs No alcohol – the next chapter?

As we go through the presentation, you will taste different brands illustrating key points. 

We will end the session with a cocktail at the bar, so you can ask more questions and chat about the findings with your team. 

How long does the session last?

It takes around two hours depending of your needs. 

Who runs the sessions?

Depending on the date and availability, you will get either our founder Laura Willoughby MBE or our Brand Manager Josh  Kelly. Or both! All of us have been judges for the World Alcohol Free Awards and for IWSC and are experts in the sector. 

Other Services

Insight shift

If you would like to have a day in the shop observing, sampling and speaking to customers alongside our team, we charge £200 per person for the day. We recommend a Thursday or Friday.

Test Tasting

If you have a prototype product you want to test on consumers, we can offer you a space to do this. We recommend a Thursday or Friday; you can sample between 12 noon and 10 pm. We charge £150 for a day.

Focus groups

If you would like us to convene a focus group of consumers up to 14 people for you in the store, we charge £1,000 for 2 hours. We ask that if you incentivise the participants, you do so with a credit for a purchase in the Tasting Room.

Research

You can read all of our research papers for free here. Dr Jussi Tolvi leads our research, often conducted in partnership with brands, research agencies or campaigns.  

If you have a goal for your brand or business, we may be able to collaborate on some research for or with you. Contact Jussi

Working with brands

If you work with a brand who is looking to enter the UK market, get a listing or run a launch event then you can find out what’s on offer with Club Soda here.

Free trade training (please share)

If you work or have worked in the drinks industry in the UK – anywhere from pubs to production – you could benefit from our partnership with The Drinks Trust. Discover more about our work to support people in the industry and secure a fully-funded place on one of our in-depth online courses.

Club Soda also supports venues that want to become more welcoming places for mindful drinkers. Join our course for venue managers or our course for venue staff.

About the Club Soda Tasting Room

Club Soda’s Tasting Room is the UK’s premier destination for low and no drink discovery, offering you a chance to explore a curated collection of over 150 of the best and brightest low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks brands.

Each week, we have a wide selection of drinks available to sample, free of charge. Come and discover an outstanding selection of alcohol-free beers, wines, spirits, premixed cocktails, adult soft drinks and mood enhancers, and a selection of low-alcohol products.

The Tasting Room is a place to discover and explore alternatives to beers, wines and spirits. Discover drinks you’ll love with our team of mindful drinking experts, including IWSC and World Alcohol-Free Awards judge Josh Kelly.

Tasting Room interior

Accessibility at the Tasting Room

We occupy an old building but have done our best to make as many adaptions as possible to improve access to our venue.

Follow this link to see a walkthrough video and read other information.

Club Soda Tasting Room

39 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5RR

The Club Soda Tasting Room is easy walking distance from both Covent Garden and Holborn Tube stations. Find us near the junction of Drury Lane, Long Acre and Great Queen Street.

Visit the Tasting Room

Opening hours

Monday 12:00-19:00

Tuesday 12:00-19:00

Wednesday 12:00-19:00

Thursday 12:00-22:00

Friday 12:00-22:00

Saturday 10:00-22:00

Sunday 12:00-18:00

Call 020 7836 8693

Email tastingroom@joinclubsoda.com

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