Normal July aims to support people to make sustainable, long-term change to their alcohol consumption with a message that endorses doing your best to create more mindful drinking habits that work for everyday, not just through July.
Heaps Normal was founded in 2020 by four mates, each with their own reasons for cutting back on their drinking. Since launching, the brand has grown its stockist list to more than 600 retailers and venues and the brand’s first non-alcoholic Quiet XPA brew has become a mainstay in venues, outselling both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer in retailers around the country.
Heaps Normal’s co-founder and CEO Andy Miller said Normal July is designed to promote lasting behaviours by thinking about what works for you personally in your efforts to reduce alcohol consumption.
“With so much talk of going sober in July, we think it’s important to respectfully challenge the pros and cons of different approaches to improving our drinking culture. We reckon the best way to do that is by acknowledging that different things work for different people and focusing on changes that can be sustained. After all, every month of the year is too good to be wasted,” he explained.
“We’re not here to preach sobriety to anyone. Not everyone agrees with our message, and that’s OK! Our focus is on long term behavioural change, one (less) beer at a time. We’re standing with the legends looking to cut back on the booze, without the pressure to conform to someone else’s measure of how much is right for them”.
Studies have yet to find temporary sober initiatives effective in changing drinking habits over the long term or embedding broader shifts in drinking culture . It’s reported that while these campaigns can provide some health benefits to you and the people around you, they don’t target binge drinking, and no-one has looked at their long-term benefits.
To play their part in supporting healthier relationships with alcohol, Heaps Normal will donate $10 from every case sold via their online store during July to Hello Sunday Morning—an Australian charity on a mission to help people change their relationship with alcohol.
Miller said it’s important to recognise there’s more than one way to move towards a common goal.
“We know being completely sober isn’t for everyone and the key to lasting healthy behaviours is reflecting on what works for you personally—creating your own normal. The unspoken truth in our personal experience and for many of our mates is that abstaining can often result in an XL-sized blowout before or after. We don’t think long term change comes from an all or nothing approach.”
