This Way Forward with Duncan Keith, Days Brewing Co

Born and brewed in Scotland, Days Brewing Co is a modern brewery crafting 0.0% ABV, great-tasting non-alcoholic beers. They use a unique brewing process that is designed to never produce alcohol, allowing them to protect all of the flavour and integrity of their premium and local ingredients. We spoke to Days co-founder Duncan Keith to learn more about Days' story, how they empower their customers to do more while consuming less alcohol, and their biggest areas of focus for the year.

Can you tell us more about Days and how you started? 

Days is the UK’s leading, dedicated 0.0% ABV beer brand. We started in 2020 with a love of beer and a desire to make great beer without the downsides of alcohol. Me and Mike are both good friends and bring together a lot of experience from the world of beer in Mike’s case, and health-led scale up brands like PROPERCORN and Genius Gluten Free in my case. Having quit our jobs, we spent the first 12 months working hard on the process, our recipes and the brand before launching and, since then we’ve been on an incredible journey building this business.

What inspired you to kickstart your B Corp journey? 

I first learnt about B Corp while I was at PROPERCORN, we were one of the first consumer brands to certify in the UK. It was a non-negotiable when we started Days, I think it’s an amazing way to showcase all the good that a business does while also acknowledging that there is always more we can be doing to improve.

"Our beer empowers our customers by giving them a choice. There are loads of occasions for beer but actually far fewer for alcohol and, too often, we go out with good intentions and end up drinking more alcohol than we intended to, which has a whole host of unintended or undesirable consequences."

Days is all about reinventing the beer experience. How does your beer empower your customers?

Our beer empowers our customers by giving them a choice. There are loads of occasions for beer but actually far fewer for alcohol and, too often, we go out with good intentions and end up drinking more alcohol than we intended to, which has a whole host of unintended or undesirable consequences. The alcoholic beer category is constantly evolving, we now have some amazing craft options, world lagers, fruit beers… why shouldn’t we have the same access in the 0.0% space? Historically there hasn’t always been good alcohol alternatives, but today there are a number of good options and we’re advocating for the same access and promotion of 0.0% beers as alcoholic beers.

What has been your proudest B Corp moment so far? 

One thing I’m super proud of is our commitment to donate 2% of sales towards mental health initiatives, which we call “Days Duty”. We run events in conjunction with So Let’s Talk who give mental, physical and financial health training to professionals in the hospitality sector. Our first event was in Edinburgh and we have more coming up this year and seeing the genuine impact that is having on people is so rewarding.

"All we think about is how to build a world where beer doesn’t hold you back and that dedication to our craft is the reason we’re having some success."

Words of advice you would give to other organisations, whether aspiring B Corps or New Bs, on how they can create true value for their customers? 

Inject fun and passion into whatever it is you’re doing. There’s nothing more infectious than someone who genuinely cares about their product, the brand and the impact it’s having. In the alcohol free beer space, you won’t find a team that is more passionate than us. All we think about is how to build a world where beer doesn’t hold you back and that dedication to our craft is the reason we’re having some success.

With this month’s theme being all about ‘This Way Forward’, we’d love to know what is the biggest thing you’re focusing on improving this year at Days? 

Our Days Duty initiative is something that has been a core part of our business since we launched. This year we partnered with So Let’s Talk for the first time so that we can offer tangible training to people in our industry, many of them are our customers too, so that’s a big focus that I’m especially excited about.

Days is perfect for anyone looking to cut back on alcohol without compromising on great flavour and taste. If you want a beer you can do more with, without the negative consequences, you can order Days directly from their website or from stockists and retailers across the UK.