NON-ALCOHOLIC – NO APOLOGIES

A DECADE OF FRUSTRATION WITH A LACKLUSTER PRODUCT RANGE LED TO THE CREATION OF A NON-ALCOHOLIC STARTUP THAT EVEN CHALLENGED THE ALCOHOL MONOPOLY (ACCORDING TO ALKO)

There is always more than just one person behind innovative concepts: Free Spirit is backed by a team of top professionals who are passionate about fine wines and gastronomy—sensory experiences. Whether it’s coffee, wine, spirits, food, chocolate—or perfumes—quality is our passion. We are a group of experts who wanted to raise the bar and, above all, do something that had never been done before in the Nordic countries or in our drinking culture.

After more than a decade of frustration with the poor selection of non-alcoholic beverages, the company was founded one Sunday evening:

“Why not start importing the world’s finest beverages, if people are always complaining that they can’t find anything good anywhere? Let’s call the company Free Spirit,” CEO and founder Jenny Rostain told her future business partner.

–“And that’s how our story began. We were the first in the Nordic region to start importing premium non-alcoholic beverages, and at the same time, we stopped apologizing for wanting the best quality—in a non-alcoholic form.”

In the fall of 2024, the Free Spirit Flagship store on Fabiankatu in Helsinki opened its doors for the first time.

Free Spirit’s portfolio exclusively features the most award-winning products from the world’s leading manufacturers. The company accepts only premium and premium plus quality products into its catalog.

OUT OF A LOVE FOR FINE WINES AND GASTRONOMY

In 2012, Free Spirit’s CEO and founder, Jenny Rostain, walked through the doors of AA in her neighborhood on Wall Street in New York City. Known until then as a passionate consumer of fine food and wine, and having built a career as an actress, journalist, and non-fiction writer, Rostain began a deep and at times agonizing exploration of the non-alcoholic beverage market.

This led to a better understanding of people who consume non-alcoholic beverages and their needs, the reasons for not drinking, the entities that produce and sell these beverages, alcohol removal techniques, as well as developments in the non-alcoholic sector, alcohol policy, and global legislation.

The desire to find higher-quality products and enjoy them in the Nordic countries as well inspired Rostain and his team to develop the Free Spirit concept and launch Europe’s first service offering dedicated exclusively to premium non-alcoholic beverages.

“It is a great honor to help build a new generation of non-alcoholic beverages and menus alongside the world’s top restaurants, sommeliers, and producers—working side by side with the masters,”says Rostain.