Hard Seltzer Report: Mark Anthony Brands Launches 8% White Claw Surge; Target Adds Private Label Lemonade Seltzer Variety Pack
Amid rising competition in the ever-expanding hard seltzer segment, Mark Anthony Brands is adding two line extensions and one new variety pack to its White Claw franchise ahead of peak summer seltzer selling season.
The company has finally announced the launch of long-rumored White Claw Surge, the 8% ABV version of the best selling hard seltzer, as well as a third variety pack. Both come on the heels of White Claw Hard Seltzer Iced Tea, which rolled out last month, and a Mike’s branded lemonade hard seltzer pack.
“Consumers have insatiable appetite for new products,” White Claw CMO John Shea said in a press release. “So, for us it was a simple decision to give fans new options they crave with the same great tasting flavor profile we know they love from White Claw.”
White Claw Surge is available in Blood Orange and Cranberry; each single-serve 16 oz. can contains 220 calories, 2 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of added sugars. Mark Anthony filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the brand name White Claw Hard Seltzer Surge in May 2019. Coca-Cola challenged the application in November 2019, claiming that the name was similar in “sound, appearance, connotation and commercial impression” to its Surge soda. But Coca-Cola withdrew its opposition in February 2020.
In addition to White Claw Surge, the company has also rolled out a third variety pack with three new flavors — Strawberry, Pineapple and Blackberry. Each 5% ABV 12 oz. can checks in at the brand’s standard of 100 calories, 2 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of added sugars. Variety Pack No. 3 will contain three each of the new flavors and three cans of Mango, now the brand’s best selling standalone flavor.
White Claw’s variety packs are the brand’s two best selling SKUs; Variety Pack No. 1 is the eleventh best selling beer category SKU in multi-outlet food and convenience off-premise retailers year-to-date through March 21, according to market research firm IRI. Variety Pack No. 2 isn’t far behind at No. 14.
Dollar sales of Variety Pack No. 1 have declined 12.7% year-to-date — and are decelerating, with a 20.6% decline for the latest four weeks — through March 21, cycling the tough comps of the COVID-19 pandemic’s early stock-up period last year, according to IRI. The variety pack, which is White Claw’s best selling SKU, contains Natural Lime, Raspberry, Ruby Grapefruit and Black Cherry.
Variety Pack No. 2 — which the company launched in early 2020 with Mango, Watermelon, Tangerine and Lemon offerings — has increased dollar sales 335% year-to-date through March 21, according to IRI.
The two variety packs have inverse dollar share trends. Variety Pack No. 1 has declined by 0.33 sharepoints, to 1.28% of beer category dollar sales year-to-date through March 21 at multi-outlet grocery, retail and convenience stores tracked by IRI. However, Variety Pack No. 2’s sharepoint gains are outpacing its predecessor, gaining 0.74 sharepoints in the same period, bringing its share to 0.99% of beer category dollar sales.
Overall, the White Claw brand family has gained 0.58 dollar sharepoints, to 4.09% year-to-date through March 21, according to IRI. White Claw brand family dollar sales have increased 27.5% year-to-date through March 21, to $367.2 million, but have decelerated to +6.8% in the latest four weeks, IRI reported.
For the 13-week period ending March 27, dollar sales of the hard seltzer segment reached $910.4 million, a 56.8% increase over the same period last year, which included the beginning of elevated off-premise sales due to COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, according to market research firm NielsenIQ.
The hard seltzer segment is maturing at the same time the entire beverage alcohol industry is cycling tough off-premise comps, so it would make sense for long-established market leaders’ sales to slow. However, Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer, the country’s second best-selling hard seltzer brand and White Claw’s nearest competitor, has increased dollar sales 117.6% year-to-date through March 21, according to IRI.
Truly’s tea-flavored hard seltzer has a two-month headstart in the market on White Claw. Since its January 2021 launch, the Truly iced tea variety pack has become the brand’s third best-selling SKU, behind its lemonade hard seltzer variety pack and its berry hard seltzer variety pack.
Both brands’ iced tea hard seltzers check in at 5% ABV, 100 calories and 1 gram of sugar per 12 oz. serving.
Target Launches Private Label Lemonade Hard Seltzer Variety Pack
Target private label brand Mystic Reef Hard Seltzer has introduced a lemonade variety pack at all locations that sell beer and wine, according to a press release.
Each variety 12-pack includes three 12 oz. cans of four flavors (5% ABV, 100 calories, and 2 grams of sugar and carbohydrades):
- Original Lemonade
- Cherry Lemonade
- Mango Lemonade
- Strawberry Lemonade.
Target’s Mystic Reef line also includes a variety 12-pack (Black Cherry, Mango, Lime and Grapefruit) and a standalone Black Cherry 12-pack.
Artisanal Brew Works Introduces WarHeads Extreme Sour Hard Seltzer
Saratoga Springs, New York-based Artisanal Brew Works has extended its collaboration with WarHeads Extreme Sour Hard Candy maker Impact Confections to include a line of WarHeads-flavored hard seltzers.
The craft brewery released a collection of WarHeads-inspired sour beers in 2020 with the blessing of Impact Confections, according to a report in Food & Wine. Both the beers and the hard seltzers are 5% ABV. The hard seltzers are available in Watermelon, Black Cherry, Lemon and Blue Raspberry and are exclusively sold at Artisanal Brew Works’ taproom.
With the new release, Artisanal Brew Works and Impact Confections join a growing lineup of hard seltzer collaborations between brewers and brands outside the beer industry, including Molson Coors and Topo Chico; Heineken USA and AriZona Iced Tea; Polar Seltzer and Mass. Bay Brewing Company; and COOP Ale Works and Sonic.