Tell us about NON.
NON make non-alcoholic alternatives to wine. We exist to redefine the wine occasion and give people a fantastic drink option to enjoy with great food – all without the booze.
NON isn’t a de-alcoholised version of wine, it’s its own thing.
We use real ingredients to make a drink that acts almost as an extension of your meal. Every glass has elements of fruit, tannin, salinity and acidity. It’s a serious non-alc option that invites you to pay attention and taste everything and not dull your palate with booze.
What inspired you to start NON?
NON was born out of the realisation that there wasn’t an elevated and easy-to-serve non-alcoholic alternative to wine.
My wife Miranda doesn’t drink alcohol. Back in 2017 we were on holiday in London and were dining at Michelin-starred restaurants. We were at a very good restaurant in Shoreditch and I chose the alcohol pairing with dinner. I was served a glass of port that had been found on a shipwreck or something, and to be honest, it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.
Miranda had the temperance pairing. I was blown away by the complexity of flavours and how well these non-alc drinks went with the food. I thought it was a real shame that these drinks lived and died in fancy restaurants. That was when I had my lightbulb moment. I wanted to find a way to get these drinks in a bottle.
Tell us about your career and background.
My background is in the cosmetics industry, and I was fortunate to be mentored by the late Richard Gonano – the cosmetic chemist behind Aesop and Kevin Murphy.
I think that if I had come from a hospitality background NON wouldn’t exist. I just had so much blind faith when I started. I didn’t have the experience of taking something that is a kitchen experiment and scaling it to a 7,500-litre tank.
The chefs who come and see what we’ve achieved at NONHQ think I’m mad. They’re probably right.
Describe a typical work day for you.
Every day is different. There’s always a new thing demanding my attention.But to give myself some sense of structure, I work out of our facility (NONHQ) in Cheltenham in Melbourne.
My day starts at around 5 am so I can connect with our team in New York and LA. The production team arrives at around 8 am – and gets stuck into making one of the 7 different expressions of NON we are currently producing. We’re working on a couple of fun innovations that are due to come out later this year, and that’s taking up a fair chunk of my time at the moment. The day ends in Australia just as our team in the UK is waking up – so I wind up the day by checking in with them.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
You need to embrace uncertainty. If you have an idea that you believe in, you need to trust in your vision and take a leap of faith.
You’ve got to surround yourself with individuals who are not only skilled but who also hold different perspectives to you. Hiring people who are smarter than you and who can help you ask the tough questions will push the business to grow – and will also make you a better person. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of wisdom.
What’s next for you, and NON?
Later this year we’ll be releasing our first collaboration with a chef. We’ve been working with my mate Matt Stone, who is responsible for Ciao, Mate! and You Beauty up in Bangalow. It’s been great to get in the kitchen and see him work with flavours.
I’ve just been in the UK, visiting our team in London. We started exporting there at the end of 2023, and it’s been going so well. It’s helped us get a heap of new exposure, especially in Europe.
NON teamed up with fellow Aussies at Vert Industrial Design House taking the design of the standard drinks stopper into their own hands and have released a world-first stopper that ensures your bottle stays fresh and fully carbonated for up to 7 days.
“The NON STOPPER is the result of five years of banging my head against the wall to find an answer to how to prevent waste and maintain our product’s freshness. Unable to find a solution on the market that suited our style, we enlisted the help of Vert Industrial Design House. Going beyond conventional methods, we opted for a design without mechanical parts. We chose not to take the easy route, aiming to make a significant impact with this innovation, creating a before-and-after moment in time.” – Aaron Trotman, NON Founder & CEO
The NON STOPPER is sleek and works on any standard champagne neck-type bottle! It’s made of polished stainless steel providing durability, while the dome-shaped food-grade silicone adds geometric precision and practicality, for an elevated aesthetic.
It effortlessly slides onto the neck of the bottle and lets the leak-proof, airtight seal lock in place.
Click HERE to purchase The NON STOPPER.
