Ep 133: What Alcohol Companies Don't Want You to Know About Their Marketing

Ever wondered why wine is suddenly pink, skinny, and organic—or why every momfluencer has a glass in hand with hashtags like #WineOClock or #MommysLittleHelper? The answer lies in a carefully orchestrated shift in alcohol marketing that has fundamentally changed women's relationship with drinking.

The billion-dollar alcohol industry recognized a golden opportunity when their traditional male market began declining in the early 2000s. Their solution? Target stressed, exhausted women—especially moms—with a completely reimagined marketing approach. What followed was nothing short of an identity assault, where alcohol wasn't just a beverage but positioned as self-care, freedom, and the well-deserved reward for every overwhelmed woman.

This episode pulls back the curtain on these strategic tactics and their devastating impact. But this isn't a message of despair—it's an invitation to reclaim your power.

I share practical steps to begin questioning your relationship with alcohol, reframing your thoughts around drinking less, and finding the spiritual clarity that may have been muted by that evening glass of wine. Because you were never meant to be a statistic in someone else's marketing campaign—you were created for authentic joy, presence, and peace.

Download my free guide "50 Creative Ways to Say No to a Drink" to start your journey to freedom today: https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/50-ways-to-decline-a-drink

Just a few resources to check out:

Alcohol & Spirits Influencer Marketing | Open Influence (this details why influencer marketing is a MUST for alcohol and Spirits Brands)
https://openinfluence.com/alcohol-spirits-influencer-marketing/

Alcohol and breast Cancer | NY Post https://nypost.com/2025/06/06/health/14-out-of-100-women-who-do-this-every-week-will-get-breast-cancer/

Binge Drinking in Midlife is Accelerating | NewsWise
https://www.newswise.com/articles/women-are-drinking-more-during-midlife-and-older-ages-binge-drinking-during-midlife-is-accelerating

Number of alcohol-related Deaths Among Women Skyrockets in US as "wine culture" is blamed for dramatic Increase | The Sun
https://www.the-sun.com/health/13007757/alcohol-related-deaths-united-states-health-warning-study

One Drink a Day Associated with Brain Shrinkage | Alzheimer's Disease Research Center: https://www.adrc.wisc.edu/dementia-matters/alcohol-and-brain-one-drink-day-associated-brain-shrinkage

Drop us a Question or Comment

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the
go-to resource for women seekingto have a deeper understanding
of the role alcohol plays intheir lives, women who are
looking to drink less or not atall for any reason.
I am your host, christi Walker.
I'm a wife, mom and ajoy-filled Catholic, and I am

(00:22):
the Catholic Sobriety Coach, andI am so glad you're here, hello
friend, and welcome back.
Today we are going to take apeek under the curtain of the
billion-dollar alcohol industryand the carefully crafted lives

(00:43):
it feeds to women, from mommywine culture to influencer
partnerships and pink-washedmarketing.
You'll discover how alcoholcompanies have strategically
targeted women, especially moms,to sell a false version of

(01:06):
self-care, freedom andempowerment.
You'll also hear about theunique health risks alcohol
poses to women, especially inmidlife, why it hits us harder
and how to begin reclaiming yourpeace and freedom, spiritually
and physically.
Now this episode is called whatalcohol companies don't want

(01:27):
you to know about theirmarketing, and this isn't just a
theory, it's personal, it'sspiritual and it's backed by
decades of research and reallife pain.
So let's get into it.
The first thing that we're goingto talk about is the history of
alcohol marketing to women.

(01:47):
Now, for decades, alcohol wasmarketed to men Masculine beer
commercials, bar culture, lockerroom vibes you get my drift.
Now, that doesn't mean womenweren't drinking alcohol.
It just means that it wasn'treally being marketed to them
the way it is now.
But in the early 2000s, astheir male market started to

(02:11):
decline, they quickly realizedthat they needed to make a shift
, and that's when big alcoholsaw a massive opportunity Women
opportunity.
Women Specifically stressed outexhausted, high-performing
women, especially moms, and sobegan the feminization of

(02:33):
alcohol.
And suddenly wine became pink,sparkling, skinny, organic and
sold with phrases like becauseyou deserve it, or mommy's
little helper, or it's wineo'clock somewhere, or, my least
favorite, my kids are the reasonI drink.

(02:54):
It was no longer just about thedrink.
This was all about identity, anattack on women's identity.
They were selling women a newidentity, one that promised
connection, escape andpermission to just let go and

(03:16):
numb out.
Now recent research tells usthat alcohol consumption, and
particularly binge drinking,among women aged 45 and up has
actually increased by 40% in thelast decade.
That is a direct correlation tothe way that alcohol has been

(03:38):
marketed in recent years.
Now I know that statistic ishard to hear, but it's important
.
We look at it withcompassionate eyes.
Women, we were targeted youwere targeted by big alcohol and
so many of us fell into thistrap.

(03:59):
Because this season of life canbe filled is filled with unique
pressures balancing work,caring for children and or aging
parents, and sometimes whilefacing loneliness as family
dynamics shift.
Enter momfluencers.
These weren't celebrities inads.

(04:21):
These were actual moms onInstagram and TikTok celebrities
and ads.
These were actual moms onInstagram and TikTok Women just
like you and me, postingrelatable content with a wine
glass in hand and a wink in hereye, saying cheers to surviving
bedtime.
Or I love Jesus, but I drink alittle.
Or coffee until wine, or coffeeuntil wine.

(04:43):
It was funny, it was viral andit was everywhere, but behind
the humor was somethingstrategic these women became
unofficial sales reps for thealcohol industry, and what they
were really promoting?
Not just wine, but the ideathat alcohol was the solution to

(05:08):
motherhood's overwhelm.
Because, ladies, the industrywas saying you need to
self-medicate and self-care withalcohol and thankfully, here's
the truth that so many women arewaking up to including you
because you're listening to thispodcast and that is it's not

(05:32):
self-care.
Alcohol is not self-care if itsteals your peace.
Now here's another fact Since2020, alcohol use disorder in
women has skyrocketed by 33%.
Alcohol use disorder in womenhas skyrocketed by 33% and
during the pandemic, women weretwice as likely to turn to

(05:52):
alcohol as men, Slowly becomingintertwined in the grips of
alcohol dependence.
Now here's where it getspersonal, especially if you are
a woman of faith.
I've talked to so many Catholicwomen who love the Lord, who
serve their families, theirchurches, their communities, but

(06:13):
who are secretly feeling stuckin a cycle with alcohol.
They don't really know who totalk to or where to turn.
They also seem to have thingspretty much all together in
other aspects.
Even if there may be sometroubles here and there.
They can kind of move past thatbecause they're not really

(06:36):
looking at it.
They are thinking that alcoholis what's holding them all
together.
They're pouring a glass of wineat the end of the day not to
celebrate, to escape.
But they're also wondering whythey feel spiritually numb or
disconnected.
The reason is this Alcohol is aspiritual thief.

(06:59):
It doesn't just blur yourthoughts, it dulls your
discernment, it quiets thatstill small voice and it numbs
the discomfort.
But at the same time it's alsonumbing the clarity, the joy,
the conviction that God wants togive you.
It deals your present, it keepsyou from seeing things that the

(07:27):
Lord wants you to see.
It keeps you from hearingthings that you need to hear.
It keeps you comfortably numbuntil it doesn't.
And as long as we are turningto alcohol instead of the Holy
Spirit, we are going to keepmissing the healing that God is

(07:49):
trying to offer.
Now let's talk about the partthe industry really doesn't want
you to know.
Alcohol is especially damagingto women's health, and even more
so in midlife, though inmidlife, we metabolize alcohol

(08:09):
differently than men.
We absorb more of it and faster, and as estrogen levels shift
during perimenopause andmenopause, the effects of
alcohol hit us harder.
Now here's what science saysEven one drink a day increases
your breast cancer risk.
Women are much more likely todevelop liver disease, and at

(08:33):
lower amounts than men, justbecause our bodies are different
and alcohol attacks our organsquicker, because we just don't
have the same amount of fat andmuscle that men have for alcohol
to get through.
Alcohol disrupts sleep, worsensanxiety and accelerates

(08:53):
cognitive decline.
It also shrinks your brain.
Even one glass a day can shrinkyour brain, and don't worry,
I'm going to be leaving somelinks to resources that you can
go even deeper with this.
Alcohol also throws yourhormones into chaos, which is

(09:14):
the last thing we need asmidlife women, and it raises the
risk for depression and evenearly onset of dementia.
I've talked about all thesethings before in previous
podcast episode, but it bearsrepeating.
And let me tell you somethingelse.
You know how cigarettes haveall of those warnings and things

(09:39):
printed on them.
None of that will be found on abottle.
Hopefully that's changing.
Actually, the Surgeon Generalrecently came out with a
statement that said no amount ofalcohol is safe to consume.
So I mean, there's that, andmaybe one day we will see
warnings on alcohol labels, butI haven't seen any recently,

(10:04):
although I don't really buyalcohol, so I don't know if it's
on there Now.
The alcohol industry doesn'twant you to know this stuff,
because they're not trying tosell you health, they're trying
to sell you escape.
They're selling you identity.
They're selling you ashort-term fix that guarantees
long-term pain, the more youdrink and the more often, and

(10:29):
they're doing it with beautiful,glitter, pink cans and hashtags
.
So what do you do with all ofthis?
I just firehosed you with a lotof information.
First, let me tell you youdon't need to panic and you
don't need to feel shame, butwhat you do need is to wake up
and take back your power.

(10:51):
Here's a few things that you cando today.
First of all, start noticingthe messaging.
Get curious about how alcoholis being sold to you and what it
is promising.
Look at how other people talkabout it, how there seems to be
like connection and solidarityaround drinking.

(11:12):
Tell the truth, gently Askyourself is drinking actually
helping me or is it just numbing, something that I'm afraid to
feel?
Make yourself a pros and conslist.
If you want, on one side, justwrite.
Take a piece of paper.
You want On one side, justwrite.

(11:35):
Take a piece of paper, fold itin half.
On one side, write all thethings that alcohol gives you
and all the things that alcoholtakes away.
Reframe your thoughts arounddrinking less or not at all.
It's not about deprivation,it's liberation.
Your no gives way to a yes.
Remind yourself, you're notlosing fun.
You're actually reclaiming yourhealth and your clarity.

(11:56):
And then the other thing youcan do is just let God speak
into your discomfort.
He isn't the Lord, does notshame you, he doesn't condemn
you.
Instead, he invites you, heheals you and he wants to set
you free.
Ladies, you were never meant tobe a silent statistic in

(12:20):
someone else's marketingcampaign.
You are a beloved daughter ofGod to live a fulfilled life,
fully alive and fully awake,fully present, aligned and at
peace.

(12:46):
So if this episode stirredsomething in you, I just want to
invite you to subscribe to thispodcast, share it with a friend
or sister in Christ and, whileyou're at it, you can grab my
free guide 50 Creative Ways toSay no to a Drink.
You are not alone, you are notstuck and you are not beyond
hope.
There is so much life on theother side of that glass.
I pray that this informationand awareness is going to help

(13:10):
you stay rooted, stay free, keepsaying yes to the real you and
step into the life that the Lorddesires for you and you desire
for yourself, until next time.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand I would invite you to share

(13:34):
it with a friend who might alsoget value from it as well.
And make sure you subscribe soyou don't miss a thing.
I am the Catholic SobrietyCoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer.
Visit my website, thethecatholicsobrietycoachcom.

(13:55):
Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic Sobriety Coach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time and remember I am
here for you.
I am praying for you.
You are not alone.