Heaps Normal is anything but

This Australian beer might be missing something you usually find in a cold brew, but focussing on taste and mindful drinking means what it’s not missing is growth. 

A lot of things are going right for non-alcoholic beer company Heaps Normal, a pool of experienced investors, a ‘mindful drinking’ boom and a social impact model benefiting people and the planet. 

“We’ve made a beer that legitimately people taste it and they can’t believe it has no alcohol in it. It’s really interesting to see the reaction when that happens,” said co-founder Peter Brennan, a designer and entrepreneur who heads up the company’s branding.

Heaps Normal got its start in 2020 during a three-month startup accelerator program run by Startmate, which has been the catalyst for several Australian and New Zealand businesses including Great Wrap, JustFund and Glamazon.

The program led to an initial $1.3 million investment from many well-established in the industry, including Who Gives a Crap’s Simon Griffiths, Koala and MILKRUN’s Dany Milham and Adore Beauty’s Kate Morris, followed by an impressive $8.5 million in a Series A one year later. 

“We’ve never been traditional as a business. We’ve always kind of gone against the grain. I think the crowdfunding routes are certainly getting traction at the moment, I see a lot of brands jumping on that bandwagon. But the more investors you have on the cap table, it can get a bit confusing and diluted, particularly when you have a lot of people that are opinionated and calling shots.

“We felt that we had a great team of sophisticated investors from the first round, and if we could raise the money within that round of investors that we already had on the cap table, then it didn’t make sense to [raise capital] somewhere else. So when we did the Series A, we just reached out and they followed on again, which was really flattering and exciting.

“I think the opportunity just presented itself and it was relatively easy for us to raise those funds.”

Strong investor confidence was quickly matched by the consumer market, with a spate of awards placing Heaps Normal’s products amongst the world’s best. Its signature Quiet XPA took out the prize for world’s best no and low alcohol pale at the 2022 World Beer Awards, where it also was named country winner for Australia in the low-alcohol category the year prior. It also outsold all other beers, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, at online store Beer Cartel in 2021.

Mindful drinking

Brennan puts Heaps Normal’s success down to “a shift in consumer mindset that’s happened gradually over the last few years” away from alcohol, which is reflective of the experiences of many other countries.

According to CPA Australia, non-alcoholic drinks account for 3 per cent of the global alcohol market and is forecast to grow to 31 per cent by 2024, while specifically in Australia, the low and no-alcohol drinks volume will grow by 16 per cent by 2024. 

There are now a diverse range of sophisticated alcohol-free wines, beers and spirits on the market, including those from major alcohol companies including Heineken and Carlton Draught, and even non-alcoholic bars.

“I think there’s definitely a trend of people being aware of what they consume and being a lot more health conscious. That ties into the wellness space and mindfulness,” continued Brennan. 

“I also think the pandemic played into our favour, because in the first lockdown people stocked up [on alcohol] and dragged through the pain, so to speak. Then in the second lockdown, they thought, wow, we can’t do that again. 

“We were just poised, we were there, and the timing was impeccable from our side. I think the sum of all parts has allowed for a community that’s open to trying what we do.

“A big part of our engagement is that we’ve never been preachy as a brand. We’ve never said, don’t drink or that drinking is the devil. We make beer for people who really enjoy good beer, but want to cut down. That could be because they’re driving tonight, or they’re sober for life, or any mix in between those two extremes. And that’s really worked for us.”

Extending social impact

The social impact focus of Heaps Normal extends to its operations. The business runs a two per cent for purpose initiative which involves donating 1 per cent of its annual turnover to the planet through its 1% for the Planet certification, and the other 1 per cent to people through causes the founders see fit, such as sponsoring a sports team or supporting local musicians.

Heaps Normal is also currently in the process of becoming a B Corp, demonstrating the business is achieving the highest social and environmental standards.

It’s a trend echoed by others in the industry, including Canberra-based independent craft brewery Capital Brewing Co, Australia’s first B Corp brewery, which also has Climate Active carbon neutral certification and supports green initiatives such as Trees of Tomorrow in partnership with environmental charity Keep It Cool. 

Brennan explains that this corporate social responsibility is inherent in each of the four co-founders’ motivations to join Heaps Normal.

“My dad was an abusive alcoholic and I lost him to suicide when I was 11. I grew up in that shadow of that my whole life,” said Brennan.

“When I hit my late teens and twenties and discovered partying and drinking, I became the guy that would go out and have too much fun. I wouldn’t remember getting home the next morning and would be told by my friends that I was out of control.

“Heaps Normal has a purpose that we’ve all experienced in different ways, so it’s a small thing for us to look at it through the lens of trying to do things right. We donate money because it just feels like the right thing to do – and the right thing to do is always the right thing to do. I think business should be used as a force for good.”