Nick Candy backs expansion of his alcohol-free Wild Idol wine across Middle East

UK businessman intends turning brand into a billion-dollar enterprise with sales worldwide

Wild Idol was designed as an original alcohol-free drink, rather than having the alcohol removed. Photo: Wild Idol

British billionaire Nick Candy has revealed plans to grow his luxury alcohol-free sparkling wine company, Wild Idol, into a billion-dollar brand by launching it in the US and expanding its reach in the Middle East this year.

The luxury property developer set up the company three years ago with a board which includes the former chairman of premium drinks brand Diageo and a former managing director of a French champagne house.

Wild Idol, which is available in white and rosé, was designed as an original alcohol-free drink, rather than having the alcohol removed like many similar brands.

“I decided to create something which was mind-blowingly different to everything else. And most importantly which was zero alcohol,” he told The National. “We are going very strong already in the Middle East.”

Mr Candy wants to capitalise on opportunities in Saudi Arabia due to 70 per cent of its population being under the age of 30. In the UAE, Wild Idol is sold in leading restaurants and hotels, as well as MMI stores.

Leading outlets in Dubai include Atlantis The Royal, Atlantis The Palm, One & Only, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Jumeirah Group, The Lana, Ennismore Hotels, Nammos, Ling Ling, Hakkasan, and Four Seasons. Mr Candy aims for it to also be available in airports and on Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways flights.

Breakthrough offer

Because bubbles in traditional champagne come from the fermentation process, the experience was hard to recreate, said Mr Candy.

“I tried to do this with various different wine makers in Napa, France, Germany, England. Doing this and getting a really good taste and having the bubbles like champagne is super hard.

“Even with all the money in the world and all the skill sets in the world, this is super difficult. To get the consistency time and time and time again is almost impossible.”

He is happy that the product, which costs around £29.99 a bottle and sells in UK stores including Harrods and Selfridges, has reached his desired standard. Wild Idol launched in the US this week, initially in New York, Florida and California.

It has been available to buy in the UAE for almost a year, was recently launched in Saudi Arabia and is rolling out to other markets in the region, including Bahrain, soon.

Global sales have been growing at more than 100 per cent annually. The brand also sells candles and will launch perfume this year.

“We had an incredible end of last year and dry January is always a good start,” Mr Candy told The National. “This year we have to get past 250,000 bottles and then we are a game changer. Then we will go for a million bottles.

It is a growing industry, with players including French Bloom, a brand which Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) acquired a stake in.

Europe is the current leader in the burgeoning international alcohol-free lifestyle movement. Scandinavia, in particular, has announced a series of advances in botanically driven, low-sugar drinks.

Generation Z are key to Mr Candy’s plans for Wild Idol’s dominance, with studies showing they consume about one-third less beer and wine than previous generations.

“A lot less young people want to drink today. That is why this market is booming,” said Mr Candy. “I am very positive that we can create a billion-dollar company. I think it will take a few years but we are definitely getting there. And we are going to do some other variants.

“I want to buy some companies. I want to grow this into a really proper business and a competitor to LVMH and Diageo and Bacardi.”