Shipments from Mass. Bay Brewing Company – whose portfolio includes Harpoon Brewery, UFO Beer Co., Clown Shoes Beer, City Roots Cider and Arctic Chill Hard Seltzer – declined -10% in 2021, marking a second consecutive year of double-digit production declines, according to estimates from the Brewers Association (BA).
To combat these losses and return to growth in 2022, the company is narrowing its focus on key brands, and putting a harder emphasis on locality this year, Mass. Bay CMO Jon London told Brewbound.
That plan starts with Arctic Chill – Mass Bay’s hard seltzer line in collaboration with Worcester, Massachusetts-based Polar Beverages.
Total shipments for Arctic Chill declined more than 50% in 2021 compared to 2020, contributing the majority of Mass Bay’s total production declines for the year, according to London.
London attributed the brand’s struggles to the appeal of “new” in the hard seltzer space, which led to the loss of distribution placements in the past couple years. In August 2020, Arctic Chill was distributed in about half of the U.S. Now, London said it is distributed “primarily in New England and the Northeast.
“If you look at any of the data, basically 100% of the growth within the [hard seltzer] category in 2021 was driven by new products or new brands,” London said. “And I think what compounded it for us is we just weren’t in a position to bring any significant innovation to the table.”
Mass. Bay partnered with Polar in 2019 to launch Arctic Summer – a line of four hard seltzers inspired by Polar’s non-alcoholic seltzer offerings: Ruby Red Grapefruit, Pineapple Pomelo, Raspberry Lime and Black Cherry. In 2020, the line rebranded as Arctic Chill with a packaging refresh to better market to year-round hard seltzer drinkers, and has since added new flavors and two variety 12-packs.
This year, the company hopes to become a larger competitor in the space with new “fruit-forward styles” that are “proven successes from a polar seltzer standpoint,” as well as more focus on the brand’s variety packs.
Additionally, the company hopes to refresh its Arctic Chill marketing to emphasize the Polar partnership more.
“There are still a lot of people who don’t understand the connection and don’t know that Arctic Chill is associated with Polar, everybody in New England loves Polar,” London said. “So for us, the plan in 2022 is to introduce some new styles that are more consistent with how the category’s evolving.”
In 2021, Polar released its 100th flavor, including its limited edition and seasonal releases, giving Mass. Bay many flavor options. The seltzer company has also produced several cocktail-inspired flavors, including Watermelon Mojito and Strawberry Margarita, released last summer.
Asked if Arctic Chill will explore any other beyond beer offerings such as hard lemonade or hard tea, London said the company is “focusing on [its] hard seltzer,” but that they are “always thinking of new ways to appeal to drinkers in a space that offers so much already.”
“We take pride in being the first hard seltzer brand to offer a product made by real seltzer experts, and this year is all about further driving awareness around this partnership, as it gives us a unique point of differentiation within the category,” he continued.
Beyond Arctic Chill, London detailed Mass. Bay’s 2022 plans for its beer brands, including how Harpoon will lead growth with its League brand family, and the release of the company’s first non-alcoholic beer.