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Hangovers suck. Especially<\/span> so for those who felt pressured to drink the alcohol that inevitably caused the hangover to begin with.<\/p>\n Drinking is slowly starting to fall out of fad, especially among younger generations. According to 2022 Gallup polling, 60% of adult Americans drink alcohol. This is down from 65% in 2019, and while 5% doesn\u2019t seem like a huge change, it\u2019s a pretty drastic shift when it comes to consumer spending dollars.<\/p>\n Founders are taking full advantage of the shift as numerous startups have popped up just in the last few years looking to offer low- and non-alcoholic options. Apl\u00f3s is the latest one to secure funding.<\/p>\n The Miami-based startup announced a $5.5 million Series A round this week led by McCarthy Capital, a Midwestern private equity firm. Co-founder and CEO David Fudge told TechCrunch+ that he wanted to launch the company because he\u2019s always considered himself a \u201creluctant drinker\u201d but didn\u2019t think there was a product that would fill what he was looking for: something that gave the same relaxation benefits and vibes of alcohol but without the next-day regret.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vision is to reimagine the adult beverage category for the new era, to create the first super premium non-alcoholic spirit brand,\u201d Fudge said. \u201cWe want the sophistication, complexity, versatility and functionality of a high-end spirit. That\u2019s something that we didn\u2019t see in the market and what we were really interested in ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n As a consumer, I love<\/em> that there are entrepreneurs trying to both innovate in this category and bring in new options. Non-alcoholic spirit brands like Apl\u00f3s feel like a win-win because it not only is giving people more of an incentive to choose perhaps a healthier, lower-calorie option over alcohol, but it gives bars and restaurants a better way of providing comparable non-alcoholic cocktails to their customers and can price them the same. Capitalism!<\/p>\n But while I think the growth of this sector has societal benefits, how it plays out for investors isn\u2019t clear.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n