Reframing Non-Alcoholic Beverages as Social Innovation: Corporate Social Marketing for Alcohol Harm Reduction

Abstract

Harmful alcohol consumption remains a persistent threat to public health, social cohesion, and economic productivity worldwide. This conceptual paper presents non-alcoholic beverages (NABs) as socially innovative products that may support alcohol harm reduction within a broader social marketing system. Drawing on Lefebvre's integrative social marketing framework, corporate social marketing (CSM) scholarship and the sociality of consumption, the paper examines how corporate actions through NAB portfolios may reduce ethanol consumption while preserving participation in social drinking occasions. The paper offers a conceptual analysis of how the alcohol industry can leverage NABs to reshape drinking practices and consumption settings. This reconfiguration occurs through greater availability, visibility, and social legitimacy of NABs in alcohol-dense environments. However, corporate involvement in CSM is not without risk. To guard against corporate social responsibility (CSR)-washing, marketing spillover, and inadvertent youth exposure, we contend that industry participation is permissible only under stringent governance conditions that prioritize harm reduction over reputational gain. We conclude by outlining implications for policymakers, public health actors, and corporate decision-makers seeking credible, product-led harm reduction strategies in highly contested and regulated markets.