This would-be tycoon opened Australia’s first ‘alcohol-free bottle shop’ but then suffered the most bitter Dry July of all
- Irene Falcone opened Australia’s first alcohol-free bottle shop
- Her company ‘Sans Drinks’ entered voluntary administration
The businesswoman who opened Australia’s first ‘alcohol free bottle shop’, calling herself a ‘disruptor’ and planning to create a booze-free drinks empire has been dealt a staggering blow as her business plunges into administration.
Irene Falcone opened her non-alcoholic bottle shop franchise ‘Sans Drinks’ at Freshwater on Sydney‘s Northern Beaches in May 2021, selling booze-free wines, spirits and premixed mocktails.
She had projected that she her business would make $20million in the first five years and in a video for prospective backer Westpac about ‘brewing up success’ she expressed hopes the business would ‘expand really rapidly.’
‘We do have plans for six more stores in Sydney and 20 across Australia in the next three years,’ Ms Falcone said.
‘I love being a disruptor – I love disrupting. And there’s nothing more exciting than opening up a non-alcoholic bottle shop right across the road from our friends at Vintage Cellars.
‘I was in the paper the other day and there must have been 10 or 20 comments on there saying I was going to broke in a week.’
The critics may have been mean-spirited but were not far wrong.
She shut her original store – which was deliberately opposite a regular bottle shop – in November, and closed her second store at Warringah Mall last month.
Irene Falcone (pictured) opened her non-alcoholic bottle shop franchise ‘Sans Drinks’ at Freshwater on Sydney’s northern beaches over two years ago in May 2021
The alcohol-free bottle shop sold booze-free wines, spirits and premixed cocktails. Ms Falcone will continue to sell her products, currently stored in a Brookvale warehouse, online
Ms Falcone told Daily Mail Australia she once had dreams of rivalling Dan Murphy’s but that her business took a hit after being ‘attacked’ by supermarket giants.
She claims that her idea was copied by major chains, and their sales of the same non-alcoholic drinks she stocked gave her stores no point of difference.
‘I was shocked at how fast Woolworths and Dan Murphy’s jumped on my idea. They jumped on it so fast, with so much gusto,’ she said.
‘They went very hard after the brand that I was selling and my concept.’
With non-alcoholic wines and spirits now available in supermarkets throughout cities, foot traffic at her specialist stores dropped significantly.
Ms Falcone said months such as Feb Fast and Dry July – where Australians swear off alcohol to raise money for charity – would normally see her business boom.
In previous years, she claimed to have seen lines out the door – but the absence of queues this year was a troubling sign.
‘(I thought) two peak periods of not drinking were not turning a dial for me – I need to step in now until this snowballs into something out of my control,’ she said.
Ms Falcone told Daily Mail Australia she once had dreams of rivalling Dan Murphys but that her business took a hit after being ‘attacked’ by supermarket giants
The businesswoman claims that her idea of alcohol free drinks was copied by major supermarkets who started selling the same non-alcoholic brands as her
Ms Falcone sought voluntary administration – needing a ‘professional who can oversee my business’ – with the hope the restructure would save the business and even enable it to thrive, albeit on a smaller scale that initially envisaged.
‘I fought really hard. I genuinely thought I had a David and Goliath story against the big boys,’ she said, pointing to booze giants Dan Murphy’s and BWS.
‘I’m open to anyone coming to save me. I’m still so passionate,’ she continued.
‘There is genuinely a place out there (for a business) that specialises in non alcoholic drinks.
‘I’m hoping that I can ride through this storm and find a niche where I can survive alongside these big boys. I’m a fighter but I need help now.
‘There’s very few people who could do it on their own. I bit off more than I can chew.’
