Pabst Brewing has taken its El Jimador Spiked Bebidas tequila-inspired flavored malt beverage (FMB) national, in just one of its several beyond beer innovation expansion plans for 2024.
The El Jimador FMB was created as part of Pabst’s joint venture with Brown Forman. The 5.9% ABV offerings come in four flavors – Lime Margarita, Grapefruit Paloma, Orange Sunrise and Pina Coconut – in a variety 12 oz. can 12-pack, as well as 16 oz. and 24 oz. single-serve cans of Lime Margarita and Grapefruit Paloma.
Speaking to Brewbound last month, Pabst CEO Paul Chibe noted that the El Jimador brand is historically the No. 2 tequila brand in Mexico and boasts a “high-degree of awareness with Hispanic consumers.” He added that the FMB is performing well in “Hispanic-leading accounts.”
“We’re bullish on El Jimador,” he said.
El Jimador isn’t the only FMB innovation play Pabst is betting on in 2024.
Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails Adds Hard Tea
The Jack’s Daniels’ Country Cocktails (JDCC) FMB line is testing a hard tea line extension.
JDCC Hard Tea (5% ABV) is available in 13 states – California, Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
A variety can 12-pack features four flavors – Original, Peach, Raspberry and Blackberry – while the company is rolling out 16 oz. and 23.5 oz singles of Original and Peach for the convenience channel and on-premise retailers and venues due to the “premiumness of the Jack Daniel’s brand.”
JDCC Hard Tea has struck the right ”balance of tea taste, astringency, fruit flavor and sweetness,” Chibe said. He added that the brand can be a premium hard tea challenger to Boston Beer Company’s market leading Twisted Tea. Chibe views JDCC Hard Tea as “incremental” and reaching consumers who “don’t want the brand that are in the market.”
”We think this brand plays well in a venue environment where if you have an upscale consumer, they might be interested in a tea, but they don’t want the leader in the market,” he said. “They want a more upscale brand in their hand, and this is where Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails comes in.”
Not Your Father’s Hard Soda Pop Testing in 11 States
Not Your Father’s Hard Soda Pop is getting another chance. The mid-2010s phenomenon is back in a variety 12 oz. can 12-pack of four flavors: Cola, Lemon Lime, Cherry Cola and Strawberry Vanilla.
The mixed pack is being tested in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.
Pabst’s consumer testing of Not Your Father’s found consumers liked the brand, Chibe said. Among the lessons coming out of the consumer testing was “hero flavors” need to be the focus, Chibe said.
Meanwhile, Not Your Father’s Root Beer continues to chug along in bottle 6-packs. Chibe noted that Walmart has offered incremental distribution for the Not Your Father’s brand due to Root Beer’s performance.
The focus on all of Pabst’s beyond beer offerings is offering consumers a sessionable product in order to drive repeat purchases for the company’s wholesalers and retailers, Chibe said.
Pabst Working Through Transitioning Production Out of Molson Coors
Pabst is also in the midst of a supply chain transition, as the company moves production from Molson Coors’ facilities, including Fort Worth, Texas, where workers have been on strike since mid-February.
Chibe described the transition out of Molson Coors and into City Brewing as “complex” and “not an easy one by any stretch.”
There have been a few instances of impacts with some of the transitions, but we’re working through those,” he said. “So I would say on an overall basis, we’re doing a very good job with the transition and trying to minimize the impacts. And when we hear about retailer or wholesaler issues, we’re trying to be as attentive as possible to their needs.”
Chibe acknowledged that the labor issues at Molson Coors have trickled down to Pabst but is working to minimize the impact. Among the issues included a shortage of Rainier kegs in the Pacific Northwest, as the Seattle Times reported last month.
The transition comes as Pabst is a “big beneficiary of distribution gains” in the spring sets this year on the heels of improved trends in the wake of the Bud Light boycott last year, Chibe said. However, Chibe attributed one-third of Pabst’s improved trends to consumers brand switching and two-third to initiatives the company started in the summer of 2022 to improve its fundamentals.
Still, Chibe acknowledged the beer industry “is under pressure that the category is not healthy.” He suggested the industry needs to do a better job of promoting to consumers its brands and their attributes, whether that’s lower calories and carbs or sessionable ABVs.
“I’m not one who will readily accept that it’s a natural fate that our volumes have to be in decline,” Chibe said. “There should be a lot of opportunity for everybody. And I’m still an optimist that this industry can grow and rising tides raise all ships.”
In 2023, Pabst ranked as the fifth largest brewing company in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association (BA). Year-to-date through April 21, Pabst is the ninth largest beer category vendor in off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana. Pabst posted both dollar sales (+1.3%) and volume (+2%) growth through the first four months of 2024.
Pabst Blue Ribbon, the company’s largest brand, is the 23rd best-selling beer in 2024, posting dollar sales (+6.1%) and volume (+5.4%) growth. However, those trends slid into the red in the four-week period ending April 21, with both dollars (-2.9%) and volume (-3.7%) in decline.