The non-alcoholic beverage market has experienced explosive growth in recent years. Whether you’re browsing a grocery store aisle or scrolling through Instagram, you’re likely to encounter a wave of brands vying for your trial purchase.
After spending some time in this space, I’ve noticed these brands fall into some pretty clear camps when it comes to naming. And honestly, understanding the pros and cons of the styles of names might save you from making a mistake if you’re thinking about launching your own alcohol-free beverage.
Key Points:
- Descriptive names like “Hop Water” are clear but may be less memorable.
- Names like “Recess” or “Trip” evoke emotion and stand out.
- Abstract names like “Hiyo” feel premium but need stronger branding.
- The best names balance clarity, emotion, and memorability.
The “Tell It Like It Is” Names (Descriptive)
When Simple Actually Works
Some brands just cut to the chase. Take Hop Water- you literally cannot get more straightforward than that. It’s water with hops. Done. If you’re wandering the beer aisle looking for something that tastes beer-ish but won’t give you a hangover, you know exactly what you’re getting.
Then there’s Kin Euphorics, which is slightly more interesting but still pretty clear about what they are selling. “Kin” gives you that warm, community feeling, and “Euphoric” basically leans into the benefit or feeling after drinking the beverage.
The Problem with Playing It Safe
Here’s where things get tricky with these more descriptive names. Sure, everyone immediately gets what you’re selling, but your competitors can easily hop on the same train. How many “hop” this and “mood” products are we going to see? When your name is this straightforward, it’s important to have great packaging and an incredible story.
The Sweet Spot Names (Suggestive/Evocative)
Names That Make You Feel Something
Some brands have figured out how to pick names that aren’t obvious but still make perfect sense once you think about it.
Recess is brilliant. The moment you hear it, you’re back in elementary school, but in a good way. It’s that feeling of freedom, of putting down whatever you’re working on and just enjoying yourself. Plus, it works whether you’re unwinding after work or taking an actual break during the day.
The Social Angle
Mingle is a strong and effective brand name because it addresses a challenge that many companies often overlook. One of the most uncomfortable aspects of abstaining from alcohol is the social awkwardness that can arise in settings like parties or professional gatherings. Mingle offers a simple and elegant solution to this issue, providing a beverage that seamlessly integrates into these environments. With just one word, the brand communicates a clear value proposition and directly solves a real social dilemma.
Moment does something similar but for the introspective crowd. It’s about being present, whether you’re celebrating something or just want to chill without feeling foggy later.
The “Wait, What Does That Mean?” Names (Abstract)
When Foreign Sounds Better
Some brands intentionally embrace abstraction in their naming strategy. Take Hiyo (pronounced Hee-Yo), for example, a name that reportedly means “that” in Swahili. While the majority of consumers are unlikely to know the origin or meaning, the name still works. It’s short, memorable, and phonetically upbeat, which makes it approachable and appealing. In today’s crowded digital landscape, securing a catchy, four-letter domain is a rare achievement in itself.
On the other hand, a brand like De Soi offers a contrasting tone. Derived from the French phrase meaning “by oneself,” it carries a sense of sophistication and self-care. Rather than framing the product as a substitute for alcohol, it evokes the feeling of indulging in something refined and intentional, turning abstinence into a more elevated, personal choice.
The Risk You’re Taking
The key challenge with abstract brand names is that they require a significant investment in marketing to establish meaning and relevance in the minds of consumers. Choosing an abstract name is essentially a strategic gamble: if executed well, it can result in a distinctive, ownable identity that stands out in the market. However, without sufficient brand-building efforts, there’s a risk of fading into obscurity, becoming one of those brands people recognize but can never quite recall by name.
The “Outlier” Category
When Weird Actually Works
Cornbread, as a name for a beverage, initially seems completely out of place. When I first saw the phrase “Drink Cornbread” on my Facebook feed, curiosity got the best of me. I had to investigate what the brand was thinking. As it turns out, there’s a backstory involving the co-founder’s book about the “Cornbread Mafia,” which adds an unexpected layer of intrigue.
And yet, the name achieved exactly what a brand hopes for: it caught my attention, prompted a click, and left a lasting impression. It demonstrates that sometimes, being unexpected and memorable can be more powerful than choosing a name that feels purely logical or conventional.
What This All Means for Your Brand
The Real Trade-off
There’s no universally perfect naming strategy. Brands that opt for safe, descriptive names benefit from clarity and discoverability, but often at the expense of memorability. Conversely, abstract or artistic names can stand out in a crowded market, yet typically require significant marketing investment to educate and engage consumers. The most successful names often strike a balance, (like Recess or Trip) evoking a mood or experience.
Why This Category Is Unique
The non-alcoholic beverage space presents a distinct challenge. Consumers aren’t simply reaching for a drink; they’re making a statement. They want to project sophistication, fun, and wellness, without signaling that they’re on a restrictive health regimen or socially out of step. It’s a nuanced dynamic, and one that puts unusual weight on the power of a name to convey identity, not just function.
The Bottom Line
In this space, the most successful brands aren’t just focused on the liquid inside the bottle; they’re selling a lifestyle and a vibe. Whether a name is safe and straightforward or bold and unconventional matters less than whether it resonates emotionally with people, and creates a buzz (non-alcoholic of course).
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Transcription
Ashley Elliott (00:05):
Well, hello and welcome back to Naming in the AI Age, the podcast where we really explore what it takes to make a name work in a world of algorithms, AI, and short attention spans. Today we’re going to dive into something a little bit different, the world of non-alcoholic alternative drinks that are all the buzz pun intended. And more importantly, we’re going to look at how these brands are naming themselves to really stand out on shelves or in social ether. We’ll take a look at few of the trailblazing brands and categorize their names. So let’s get started. I have some of these with me. The first little camp of names that we’re going to talk about are the more descriptive style of names for these drinks. So the first one we have is hop water. I don’t have that one with me, but hop water signals.
(00:45):
This water has hops. Pretty descriptive, helpful for somebody that’s looking for a non-alcoholic bureau alternative on the shelf. So that’s definitely an example of a more descriptive style name, which we don’t see a ton of in this space, or I haven’t considering all the ones I’ve researched so far. Next we have kin euphoric and it’s a pretty small can. I like the idea of kin really likened to that euphoric feeling. It also could be likened to, it tastes good. It gives you that feeling of alcohol without actually being alcohol. And then the euphoric really taking you to the mood enhancing beverage aspect of it. So I would say this is a little less descriptive than hop water, but also really lands in that camp. The trade off with these descriptive names though is they’re easier to understand, but because the language is familiar, you really need to tell a story.
(01:28):
You need to do the packaging and the storytelling and that product experience to make it more unique and distinctive. It’s a low barrier to entry, but also a low barrier for people to try to imitate it. Now some of these more suggestive names of beverages I have is probably my favorite camp of names. So we have recess, so we have recess, zero proof, a craft mocktail, and then we have recess mood, which is just a mood enhancing drink. I like the concept of recess. It reminds me of school taking a recess, taking a break. You could do it at the end of your day, taking a recess. It’s a drink for unwinding, for play that really connotes all of that when a single word, which is nice and it’s a very familiar word. Another one we have is Trip. I thought this was kind of clever.
(02:12):
It’s short. One syllable recess is two syllables. So it has maybe an advantage on that aspect of it. But I like the concept of taking a trip. So grabbing an actual trip, I’m going to take a trip with me, or I’m going on a trip. I need to take a trip. Trip. Could take you to some interesting evocative connotation, but it also really just lands well. I think then we have, I don’t have this one with me is mingle. Mingle I think is cool because it really takes you into social settings. It’s light, it’s approachable. It’s definitely into the vibe or the benefit. You can take this while you mingle. You don’t have to feel odd not having a drink in your hand. So then we have moment, I really like moment, moment is akin to me to trip or mingle, really enjoying the moment, whether that be enjoying the moment and being lively or enjoying the moment in relaxation.
(02:54):
I really like where these are. They’re suggestive of the vibe or the benefit. They really lean into that emotional stickiness, but it’s not too literal and not too abstract. Now we do have a couple of the more abstract styles of names. So the first one we have is he, and I had to look up how to say it. I thought it was Hiyo. It’s Hiyo, but he is actually Swahili for that. So the concept of I’m taking that with me on hand could be where it comes from. It’s definitely short. Two syllables. It could take you to, it almost just sounds made up and joyful. Take you to greetings even if you don’t know the backstory. So I think that from a brand building standpoint is a pretty sweet spot. I mean, two syllables, four letters, it’s hard to get these days when it comes to trademark.
(03:34):
Then we have De Soi, which means by oneself or by yourself in French. So that could be really this elegant. This is more of an elegant abstract name I would say, and it really leans into the moment of being alone, that euphoric type of feeling. So I feel like Hiyo and De Soi are very different in style of name and the tone that they come across, but they both land in the more abstract, evocative. I’m curious what you guys think of these names specifically, but I have one more that’s an outlier that I found and it is called Cornbread. I saw it immediately on my Facebook feed and I had to literally dive in because I wanted it to know. The tagline said Drink cornbread, and I was intrigued. It’s unconventional, it’s nostalgic if you’re from the south like me. It’s unexpected, not intuitive for a drink.
(04:24):
So it really does make it memorable in a strange way. I actually reached out to the company themselves. I couldn’t find the backstory, and so the backstory actually is cornbread is an ode to the co-founder of Cornbread, the company. He wrote a book on the Cornbread Mafia, which side note, you’ll have to look that up later. That’s an interesting story for another day or another podcast. But really I thought this was such an evocative name. It’s so different in the category. I’m sure there are more out there, but that one really grabbed me. So I think one thing to think about when we talked about the more descriptive names versus the evocative names. The evocative names like the De Soi and Hiyo are going to really need more brand building investment. They don’t inherently explain what the product is, but their payoff is they’re unique and they’re memorable.
(05:05):
If the name lands and the product delivers on these style names, you can really create that buildable, ownable identity that very few can replicate. So thinking about, okay, what’s the takeaway of this? Thinking of the more distinctiveness you can gain, the more unique your name is, great, but it also comes at the cost of clarity and upfront understanding on the shelf or in social situations. So descriptive names are discoverable and abstract names are more memorable. It just depends on where you want to land. In the non-alcoholic space, where the vibe really matters as much as the function, we are seeing that growing preference for suggestive and evocative names like a cornbread really pop up that really tee a feeling versus specifically function or flavor. But all that to say, I think we should try one, and until next time, cheers.
