CHICAGO – Last week MillerCoors announced it would be discontinuing its MGD 64 Lemonade after less than three months on the shelves.
The product, which debuted in May, did not find a favorable response amongst consumers, according to company spokesperson Julian Green.
“The objective of the brand itself, when we launched it, was to create new news in the marketplace – specifically around the MGD 64 franchise,” said Green. “Based on the feedback from consumers, we decided that it was not something we wanted to continue with.”
Green defended the MGD brand, saying that the “premium light” category was still a priority for the company.
“Our biggest focus is premium lights, which makes up 40% of the overall beer category,” he said. “We need to continue to accelerate our growth in that market.”
Green said there is a renewed focus centered on the original MGD 64 brand.
“We do believe that low calorie beers are something that consumers want,” he said. “We are going to put our entire focus on the MGD 64 brand and create new advertising around it in order to help it grow.”
When asked about recent reports that newly appointed CEO, Tom Long, was seeking growth in the craft beer category, Green said MillerCoors is not favoring either channel.
“One is not a priority over the other,” he said. “We have a dedicated company (Tenth and Blake) that can focus on our craft and import brands in an attempt to accelerate that category.”