Born in New Zealand (where it now boasts a 40% market share), Free AF is now making waves in the US. And it’s a brand that consumers are eager to hear more about: with 154% search growth this month compared last January, according to Verve data.
It’s already present in 4,000 stores; and it’s just launched in the UK as well.
Lisa King, founder, tells us how she’s built up the brand and driven global expansion.
Introduce us to Free AF!
Free AF is a premium alcohol-free, RTD cocktail brand built for people who still want the ritual, flavor and feeling of a proper drink without the alcohol.
We launched in New Zealand in 2020 after spotting a huge gap in the market. Most non-alc options at the time were either sugary soft drinks or just didn’t taste good.
Our USP is that Free AF delivers the taste and feeling of a great cocktail with zero alcohol, thanks to our trademarked ingredient, Afterglow.
Today we are in New Zealand, the US, and now the UK, spanning off-trade, on-trade and direct-to-consumer.
Who’s your target market?
Our core consumer is a modern, socially active adult who is moderating rather than abstaining (over 90% of our consumers still drink alcohol).
They might still drink alcohol but want better options for weeknights, training blocks, work events or just feeling good the next day.
They care about taste, brand and social credibility and do not want to compromise on experience just because they are choosing not to drink alcohol in that moment.
Tell us about Afterglow and why it’s an integral part of your product
Afterglow is our proprietary ingredient from New Zealand that gives our drinks that spirit bite and creates a gentle warming sensation similar to alcohol. It is a critical part of what makes Free AF different.
Most non-alc drinks can feel flat or unsatisfying. Afterglow bridges that gap by giving consumers a sense of drinking something sophisticated, complex and actually tastes and feels like the real thing, which is why people keep coming back to Free AF rather than treating it as a novelty.
Warmth and mouthfeel are what signal to your brain that you are having a grown-up drink. They slow the sip, create structure on the palate and add gravitas to the experience.
Without that, alcohol-free drinks risk feeling interchangeable with soft drinks. If the category is going to grow long term, it has to deliver on sensation as well as flavor.
Tell us about the brand’s growth trajectory to date
We have seen strong double-digit growth year-on-year since launch. In each of the markets, we’ve been one of the first brand or product of its kind, helping to shape and create this segment of the non-alcoholic category.
Some of our defining moments have been securing 40% market share in New Zealand, expanding into the US and gaining ranging within 12 months of launch with Target and Walmart. We are now in around 4,000 stores in the US in a space of two and a half years.
We also secured investment from Convivialité Ventures, the venture arm of Pernod Ricard, in 2023.
What’s been your strategy for expansion?
We have taken an omnichannel approach but with clear sequencing. Unlike traditional alcohol, retail has been the first channel that consumers discover non-alc. This channel has been key for awareness, accessibility and volume.
On-trade has been slower to adapt and is often stage 2, being critical for credibility and education. Seeing Free AF served properly in bars and restaurants helps reset expectations of what alcohol-free can be.
D2C plays an important role for storytelling, community building and launching innovation.
Our marketing has focused heavily on digital, social and PR, with a strong emphasis on culture and lifestyle, rather than wellness or abstinence.
How challenging has it been to expand globally?
Free AF is available across New Zealand, the US and most recently, the UK. Going global from New Zealand comes with obvious challenges especially with timezone and distance! We have maintained our core operations team in New Zealand, so finding the right partners (co-packers, distributors, sales, marketing agencies) in each of the markets has been critical.
However, with the US now being our biggest market, I’ve made the move at the end of 2025 from Auckland to Miami. This also gives me better access to the UK.
We get lots of requests from all over the world to launch Free AF, so we have to be selective about where we launch: we would rather do fewer markets well than spread ourselves too thin.
What’s your favorite Free AF product and why?
My favorite was the Cucumber G&T. My drink of choice and reason for creating Free AF was a gin and tonic. The Cucumber variant is so refreshing and smells and tastes like someone has put slices of fresh cucumber into a perfectly made G&T. I also love that this goes so well with Asian food.
However, we recently launched a Chili Margarita in the US and that has now become my favorite. I love a bit of a kick and the savoriness of the chili mixed with the lime margarita is too good! It’s even better with a chill salt rim to really add that punch.
What inspires you on your journey in the alcohol-free category?
Starting Free AF has never just been about selling cans of drinks. The purpose from the beginning was to help reduce the alcohol in people by creating a world where alcohol-free moves from the sidelines into the center of social culture.
This category is no longer about restriction but about freedom of choice and better experiences. Being part of leading and shaping that shift is what keeps me excited.
