Delivering on its promise to expand beyond alcoholic beverages into an “around the clock” beverage platform, Molson Coors Beverage Company announced this week the launch of four new non-alcoholic product lines across multiple categories that are set to begin rolling out in the coming months.
The new products were developed through the conglomerate’s partnership with California-based beverage incubator L.A. Libations, in which Molson Coors took a minority ownership stake last year. The brands are arriving nearly a year after Molson Coors announced it was changing its name as part of a corporate restructuring and rebranding effort intended to help the company become more competitive outside of the alcoholic beverage sector.
“We’re building a portfolio where consumers are willing to pay more and see the value behind these brands,” said Marlon Hernandez, head of non-alcoholic beverages in the Americas at Molson Coors. “And this is where the L.A. Libations expertise is really helpful. We partnered with them as they are the experts on the better-for-you, health and wellness territory. They’ve helped us to define where we can add value in those spaces.”
The first new brand to launch will be Huzzah!, a line of probiotic seltzers that will retail for $2.49 per 12 oz. can. The drinks are lightly sweetened with three grams of sugar per unit and will be available in three flavor combinations: Juicy Pear, Strawberry & Hibiscus and Raspberry & Lemon.
Though Hernandez cited the rising popularity of seltzers, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, as the impetus behind the line, he said the brand has an opportunity to scale in mainstream channels as a versatile response to kombucha and other probiotic beverages. Due to refrigeration requirements and most kombuchas using glass packaging (shifts by some brands towards cans notwithstanding), he said the kombucha category as a whole has often struggled to reach certain growth benchmarks, leaving an opening for a shelf-stable product in another category with similar functionality.
“This combines the best of both worlds to achieve a scalable proposition in a format that is convenient for consumers, with a standard can, and a nice brand with personality,” Hernandez said. “This offers a very flavorful beverage, but at the same time with a functional benefit.”
According to L.A. Libations co-founder Dino Sarti, Huzzah! will launch in Southern California with an aggressive sales and marketing strategy, but won’t expand to other regions until at least next year. The company currently plans to use its home market to test the product and potentially make tweaks — including in branding and packaging — before targeting other parts of the country.
Although L.A. Libations will be responsible for brand building strategy at launch, Molson Coors will utilize its distribution network to secure in-store placements.
“If you live in Southern California, these should feel like national launches with the products popping up in your local stores before year end,” Sarti said. “But if you live in the middle of the country, it might take us until next year to get there based on what we learn and how we pivot.”
Huzzah! has also launched online through direct-to-consumer sales, marking a new step into e-commerce sales for Molson Coors. Hernandez said the company is hoping to use the platform to receive direct feedback from consumers as the brand is refined in the coming months.
The next brand to launch will be MadVine, a line of plant-based diet sodas containing zero sugar and sweetened with monk fruit. The company is currently finalizing the flavor lineup, which is expected to include Clean Cola and Yuzu Lemon-Up. Sarti said the goal for MadVine is to provide a natural soda alternative that doesn’t feature stevia, which he called “overused and poorly used.”
A third variety is also set to launch, with working names including Surgeon General (as a gentle spoof on Dr. Pepper) and Dr. Stepper, a nod to L.A. Libations co-founder and CEO Danny Stepper. Though the in-joke is popular in the L.A. Libations office, Sarti said the final name will be dependent on consumer response.
Other new brands will include a line of plant-based barley milks called Golden Wing, made with no additives or stabilizers, and an unnamed nootropic-based energy drink that will be marketed towards gamers as a better-for-you alternative to brands such as MTN Dew Game Fuel and G Fuel, which have become popular within online gaming communities.
Sarti noted the latter beverage was designed as an energy drink that would not directly compete within the category; along with nootropic ingredients that are purported to aid focus and eyesight, it will contain lower amounts of caffeine (under 70 mg), in contrast to products such as Bang and C4.
Sarti compared the marketing strategy to coconut water brand Zico, which at launch specifically targeted Bikram yoga studios before expanding to a larger audience. Outside of gamers, he said the drink should also appeal to a growing base of adult white collar and at-home workers.
“What we’ve said is let’s focus with laser-like precision on gamers and programmers in the first round of our launch, but ultimately the destination is anybody who drives the computer all day,” Sarti said. “Because that’s sort of all of us now.”
For Molson Coors, this new portfolio of non-alcoholic brands caps off a year of expansion into new beverage categories and better-for-you innovations, which included a step into cannabis-infused beverages through its joint venture with HEXO Corp, investments into hard seltzer with Vizzy and Coors seltzer, and the launch of low-carb Blue Moon line extension Light Sky.