How has the Belgian press covered the non-alcoholic drinks trend?
Belgian mainstream press coverage of the non-alcoholic drinks trend has shifted decisively from curiosity piece to mainstream lifestyle feature since 2023. Le Vif/L'Express, Trends-Tendances, De Standaard, and Knack Weekend have all run substantial features on the zero-proof movement, while food media like Culinaire Ambiance and Ambiance Culinaire have published detailed tastings of dealcoholised wines alongside their traditional wine coverage — a signal that NA has earned legitimate editorial standing in Belgian gastronomy media.
How Belgian media is covering the zero-proof revolution
Belgian mainstream press coverage of the non-alcoholic drinks trend has shifted decisively from curiosity piece to mainstream lifestyle feature since 2023. Le Vif/L'Express, Trends-Tendances, De Standaard, and Knack Weekend have all run substantial features on the zero-proof movement, while food media like Culinaire Ambiance and Ambiance Culinaire have published detailed tastings of dealcoholised wines alongside their traditional wine coverage —
Media coverage of premium non-alcoholic beverages in the Belgian press has undergone a profound shift between 2020 and 2025. Once relegated to health or wellness sections with restrictive connotations, the NA segment now receives regular treatment in the gastronomic supplements, business sections and lifestyle features of major titles. This editorial repositioning reflects a genuine transformation in how Belgian society perceives NA beverages: no longer as substitutes for abstinent consumers, but as a premium category with its own codes of excellence.
L'Echo, Belgium's leading economic daily, has published multiple in-depth investigations into the rise of Belgian NA brands between 2023 and 2025, focusing on their export potential and impact on the traditional brewing industry. These analyses draw on data from FEVIA, Comeos and AWEX, lending the articles a credibility and analytical depth rarely achieved on this topic. La Libre Belgique and Sudinfo have covered the Tournee Minerale with growing depth since 2022, evolving from short event-driven articles to comprehensive dossiers on consumption trends and the new NA brands transforming the Belgian market, including founder profiles and market analyses.
Flemish press and the NA lifestyle narrative
On the Flemish side, De Standaard and De Morgen have followed the development of Flemish and Brussels NA brands closely, dedicating features to new craft NA breweries in Antwerp and Ghent, pioneer Brussels bars, and sales data published by the Vlaamse Brouwers. Specialist gastronomy titles such as Culinaire Saisonnier now systematically include NA beverage alternatives in their food-and-drink pairings, a significant editorial shift from practices before 2021. Le Vif/L'Express and Knack have covered "sober curious" trends and the statistically lower alcohol consumption of Belgian Generation Z, drawing on Sciensano data and SPF Sante Publique behavioral surveys published every two years. This trend journalism, contextualizing NA within a broader societal shift, normalizes NA behavior and expands the potential audience for premium non-alcoholic products well beyond historically abstinent consumers.
The Belgian government and regional economic development bodies have formally identified the NA beverage segment as a priority growth area within the food and beverage sector. Investment support programmes for SMEs pursuing NA product development or marketing are available through the regional development agencies in Flanders and Wallonia, and several Belgian universities including Ghent University's food science faculty have established NA beverage research partnerships with industry. This institutional support, combined with Belgium's excellent research infrastructure and a sophisticated, quality-conscious domestic consumer market, creates a particularly favourable innovation ecosystem for NA startups and established companies looking to extend their product ranges. The combination of government support, academic research capacity and a demanding home market makes Belgium an especially attractive location for NA product development and European market launch. FEVIA's industry development roadmap for the NA segment projects continued double-digit growth through 2026, supported by ongoing consumer education, expanding distribution infrastructure and the pipeline of new product launches already in development from both Belgian producers and international brands targeting Belgium as their primary European entry point.
The Belgian hospitality and food service industry has responded to growing NA demand by developing training and education programmes specifically targeted at service staff in restaurants and retail. Horeca Formation Wallonie and Syntra Vlaanderen, the vocational education bodies for the hospitality industry in both regions, have integrated formal NA beverage education modules into their sommelier and restaurant service training programmes. This development, which took place during 2023, means that new generations of Belgian hospitality professionals learn about NA products from their initial training and are competent to recommend and serve them from day one. This structural advantage in hospitality staff education is another reason why Belgian foodservice establishments consistently outperform their European counterparts in NA programme adoption quality and the commercial results those programmes generate. The pipeline of NA-literate hospitality professionals entering the Belgian market annually is creating durable systemic advantage that compounds over time as more establishments gain access to trained NA service expertise.
| Publication | Language | Dominant NA editorial angle | Coverage frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| L'Echo | French | Business, export, Belgian NA brands | Monthly (economic features) |
| La Libre Belgique | French | Society, health, consumption trends | Bi-monthly plus Tournee Minerale spikes |
| Sudinfo | French | General public, local Walloon initiatives | Event-driven |
| De Standaard / De Morgen | Dutch | Flemish brands, craft NA breweries | Monthly, strong Tournee coverage |
| Le Vif / Knack | Bilingual | Generation Z, sober curious, lifestyle | Quarterly (lifestyle features) |
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