What makes Sanzalc different from a supermarket soda aisle?
Arnaud Calvet: It’s an alcohol-free cellar. SO There are alternative drinks for adults. We therefore offer approximately 150 references with beers, wines and also spirits. We offer our customers gin, rum, or whisky, without alcohol. And we also have some more classic soft drinks. Everything is carefully selected, we pay attention to the tastes, aromas and the approach of the producers.
Fermentation is the basis of every alcoholic beverage. It develops both aromas and ethanol. How can we make drinks without alcohol but with taste?
A.C. : Producers use a vacuum evaporation dealcoholization technique. Winegrowers, for example, produce a classic wine between 10 and 15 degrees of alcohol. Then they evaporate the ethanol while preserving the aromas and flavors. We retain the notion of grape variety, the nose of wine, the taste of wine.
After your online cellar and the first physical store in Orchies, you are opening a cellar in the heart of Lille. Is there a real demand for non-alcoholic drinks?
AC: I think there are several parameters to take into account. A company that wants to be a little more hygienist after Covid. Or for some, alcohol consumption has been very significant. And then the benefits of reducing alcohol consumption are becoming more and more known. There is this idea of regain a little bit of good health and lucidity, better sleep, pay attention to our alcohol intake before getting back in the car… Many of our customers want to limit their consumption. And keep alcoholic drinks like a good wine or a good cocktail for the weekends.
Have you stopped drinking yourself?
AC: Yes for three years. I couldn’t limit myself, control myself. So I stopped drinking. But I found myself facing nothingness in supermarkets. There were only industrial beers without alcohol or sodas loaded with sugar. We are far behind in France compared to other countries such as the United Kingdom for example.
For you, is it a fad or a long-term trend?
AC: We are clearly on a trend. The fashion effect was just after COVID. Since then we have more and more customers in the stores. Sales in Lille and Orchies represent 60% of our turnover. And our clientele is very diverse. We have as many elderly people as thirty-somethings, men and women alike. The only ones we still barely reach are 18-25 year olds.
Sanzalc, 39 rue de l’Hôpital Militaire, 59800, Lille
