Non-alcoholic drinks retailer Sans Drinks has entered voluntary administration due to competitive pressures and softening sales.

Established in 2020 by Nourished Life founder Irene Falcone, the specialty business sells wine, spirits and beer without alcohol content.

In 2021, the business launched its first physical store in Freshwater, Sydney and later opened another offering in the Westfield Warringah shopping centre.

Falcone flagged that the market has “moved” and as an entrepreneur, she had to “pivot” very quickly to the shifts.

“It’s obviously not an easy decision. But it’s the right decision for the customer and it’s the right decision for my business moving forward to enter into administration now and assess what my options are.”

Although the business recorded a four-fold increase in sales between June and July last year, in-store trading was hit in March this year.

“The foot traffic for my store definitely declined around March and April. And I kept hanging in there because I thought we were coming into dry July and that things will pick up.

“But by the last week of June, when their foot traffic had not increased, I thought I need to stop and make a very quick decision now and move back to just online,” said Falcone.

She appointed Andrew John Spring and Peter John Moore from specialist insolvency firm Jirsch Sutherland as joint administrators on Monday.

The administrators are currently reviewing the business’ financial position and are working with Falcone to “downsize” the business.

“So the administration process is really about helping me unravel the business to move to an online-only offering, back to my roots,” said Falcone.

“I’m moving to niche, highly curated, better-for-you products. So things with no artificial colours or no artificial sweeteners.”

She added Sans Drinks acted as a “launchpad” for various brands to debut their products, but they later went on to work with bigger retailers like Coles and Woolworths.

The Sans Drinks website is fully operational and is still taking orders. The downsizing will reduce the website’s 600 SKUs to 80, keeping premium offerings including the retailers’ own brands.

Meanwhile, Falcone has also pointed out that competition from grocery giants such as Woolworths and Coles, who started stocking non-alcoholic alternatives, has “crashed” the market.

“There’s a misconception out there, that the first to enter the market are going to be the market leader, but it’s actually not the case, the market leader is the fast follower.”

In this case, Falcone says it is the grocery giants who have the money and infrastructure to take over concepts and help them scale further.

A first meeting of creditors will be held on July 27, while a second will take place in a month’s time.

In April, Falcone announced she would return to the world of beauty with the launch of Sans World: a natural beauty marketplace that will include its own skincare range.