The anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better battle at the top of the hard seltzer segment will extend into iced tea line extensions.
Hard seltzer segment leader Mark Anthony Brands today announced plans to launch White Claw Hard Seltzer Iced Tea “in response to tens of thousands of passionate consumer requests for new flavors.”
The announcement comes after Boston Beer Company made a similar reveal during its national sales meeting, with plans to launch a Truly Hard Seltzer iced tea line next year.
In an update to the company’s wholesaler partners, Mark Anthony Brands president Phil Rosse wrote that the White Claw iced tea line extension will begin shipping to wholesalers in March 2021 and will be sold exclusively in mixed 12-packs of sleek cans.
Each pack will include four flavors of sparkling tea with “a hint of fruit” — Lemon, Mango, Raspberry and Peach. The iced tea line will mirror its mother brand at 5% ABV and 100 calories, with a gluten-free alcohol base. The iced tea version differs in sugar content, with just 1 gram of sugar.
“Our consumers asked and we are proud to deliver another highly anticipated innovation to meet their evolving needs,” Rosse wrote.
The White Claw iced tea line extension’s bonafides match up with the forthcoming Truly line extension, which is also 5% ABV and contains 100 calories and 1 gram of sugar. Truly will also offer four nearly identical flavors of tea: Peach, Strawberry, Lemon, and Raspberry.
Rosse noted that non-alcoholic iced tea beverages is a $9 billion category, among the fastest growing in beverage, which makes this “a big opportunity for growth in 2021.”
Mark Anthony Brands previously said it would launch a Mike’s Hard Seltzer Lemonade line, which will begin shipping to wholesalers in variety 12-packs in March 2021, on the heels of Boston Beer’s Truly Lemonade line extension becoming one of the top innovation brands of 2020.
Year-to-date through October 4, Truly Hard Seltzer Lemonade Seltzer mixed pack is a top 30 selling product in multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by market research firm IRI. The pack has posted $199.6 million in dollar sales through early October and is the Truly line’s top selling product.
Mark Anthony will also launch a White Claw variety 24-pack in March. Rosse said to watch for additional new product announcements in the coming months.
The White Claw brand family is currently the sixth largest beer category brand family and top selling hard seltzer brand, racking up nearly $1.6 billion in sales, up 166.5% compared to the same period last year.
In his note, Rosse offered insights into the company’s year so far. After finishing 2019 with national consumption growth of +86%, the company’s national consumption growth rate through the third quarter of 2021 is +91%. He added that White Claw has remained the “core” of the company’s “accelerating performance, growing +135% YTD.” In fact, he wrote that the company’s entire portfolio is in growth, including Mike’s Hard (+13%), Mike’s Harder (+16%), Cayman Jack (+88%) and MXD (+38%).
“Collectively those brands are +20% YTD,” he wrote. “We at Mark Anthony believe the phenomenal growth of hard seltzers will continue in 2021 and the industrywide investment and focus in the category, will only further accelerate this consumer driven movement and create incredible opportunities for White Claw as the leading brand.”
Additionally, all of Mark Anthony’s capital projects are now operational, including an expansion at the Cold Spring co-packing facility, which includes a dedicated White Claw high speed canning line, and new production facilities in New Jersey and Arizona, Rosse wrote.
“We are extremely excited to be in position to finally supply the market in full in 2021 and unleash our rich innovation agenda, which has been the backbone of our organization since Mike’s Hard Lemonade first launched back on April 1, 1999,” he said.
The Truly brand family, the second largest hard seltzer brand, has posted nearly $720.5 million in dollar sales, up 158.2% compared to last year.
The hard seltzer segment has recorded more than $3.6 billion in sales, an increase of 192.8%, for the 52-week period ending October 3, according to market research firm Nielsen.