New Zealand alcohol-free drinks brand AF Drinks has opened the country’s first alcohol-free bottle store in central Auckland.

The Curious AF Bottle Shop will be open for a limited time at Ponsonby Central on Ponsonby Road and offers the AF Drinks range as well as a range of alcohol-free pre-mixed drinks, spirits, wines, beers and ciders from around the world.

The shop will be open daily until Sunday 31 July and will offer different tastings each week.

Kiwi entrepreneur and founder of Eat My Lunch and AF Drinks, Lisa King, says while there are positive moves in New Zealand around exploring alcohol-free options, there is a lot of catching up to do.

“Even though positive change is happening, with more Kiwis exploring the Sober Curious movement and moderating alcohol consumption levels, there’s a much deeper culture associated with drinking alcohol that isn’t going to shift overnight,” says King.

“By launching The Curious AF Bottle Shop, we want to continue to normalise the subject of not drinking, so it’s not a socially awkward conversation or situation. And we want to introduce Kiwis to the vast variety of alcohol-free drinks available – you don’t just have to drink water!”

King launched AF Drinks in 2020 and its range of canned and bottled drinks includes AF G&Ts in Classic, Cucumber and Pink Grapefruit, AF Apero Spritz, AF Cuba Libre, AF Dark & Stormy, AF Sparkling Sake, AF Tokyo Highball and AF VØd%a Spritz.

As well as the AF Drinks range, the store also stocks bubbles from Italy and Australia, wines from Sweden and South Africa, and beers from Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Germany and England.

“Ultimately, we want people to leave our shop feeling uplifted and empowered, and more open to supporting people choosing not to drink. And should they later choose not to drink on a night out, across July or longer-term, it's really not a biggy,” says King.