We talk to Laura Willoughby MBE - co-founder of Club Soda, the Mindful Drinking Movement. We ask what the big trends in no/low are, what the wine trade should learn from and contribute to this, how restaurants can incorporate alc-alternatives to make money and whether or not we should be worried in the world of wine (answer = yes!).
Laura Willoughby MBE is co-founder of Club Soda, the Mindful Drinking Movement. Their aim is to help people drink more mindfully and live well.
The inspiration for Club Soda comes Laura’s experience of giving up drinking ten years ago. A campaigner at heart with a background in movement building and politics, she realised that one of the big sticking points was a way to support people to take a self-guided journey to change their drinking.
Club Soda https://joinclubsoda.com/ has over 70,000 individual members and nearly 100 brand members who they support through research and collaborative projects. They have built a drinks guide and they run the UK’s only Mindful Drinking Festival which is now in its 8th edition. Laura and here team
Opened the pop-up alcohol-free shop in London’s West End in 2022. She is co-author of How to Be a Mindful Drinker published by DK books.
Laura is Imbibe’s No & Low ambassador and judge for the IWSC awards.