Hard Seltzer

Mark Anthony Brands (MAB) is rolling into summer with a focused plan behind White Claw, which boasts an even more dominant position in the hard seltzer segment. Now in its ninth year, White Claw now holds around 70% share of hard seltzer dollar sales, and a 50% share of “total beverage-alcohol seltzer,” which is primarily White Claw and Gallo’s High Noon, MAB president David Barnett said.

Crystal Light Vodka Refreshers are rolling out to 10 states this month. A collaboration between Kraft Heinz and Harpoon maker Barrel One Collective, the 3.8% ABV vodka-based seltzer has 77 calories per 12 oz. serving, making it “the lowest-calorie ready-to-drink [RTD] cocktail on the market,” according to a press release.

Mark Anthony Brands is narrowing its focus in 2025, with a “dramatically” simplified portfolio, Mark Anthony Brands president David Barnett shared Monday during Day 2 of Beer Business Daily’s Beer, Wine and Spirits Summit in Palm Beach, Florida.

Spindrift is in advanced talks to be acquired by a private equity firm for north of $650 million, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Boston Beer Company’s Q3 financials were described by one analyst, Bernstein’s Nadine Sarwat, as “a messy set of results.” The company’s portfolio – including Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Sun Cruiser and Hard MTN Dew – reported a -1.9% year-over-year (YoY) decline in shipments (sales to wholesalers) and -3% decline in depletions (sales to retailers) in the quarter.

Duvel USA-owned Boulevard’s beyond beer offshoot Quirk is tea-ing up a 2025 innovation slate that touches on hot trends in the fourth category. Quirk Hard Tea (4% ABV) will roll out in early 2025 with a standalone lemonade tea offering and a variety pack, executives announced to wholesalers during Duvel USA’s virtual wholesaler summit last week.

Hard seltzers remain down double-digits through mid-July in Circana-tracked off-premise retailers. Hard seltzer declined -11.8% in dollars and -16.1% in volume through the rolling 52-week period ending July 14.

Flavor-forward innovations are driving beer category growth and this trend is accelerating, according to the most recent report from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC). Of the top 25 growth brands at total U.S. off-premise outlets year-to-date (YTD) through June 15, 13 were “flavor-centric” or ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings, BWC founder Bump Williams noted, citing data from market research firm NIQ.

The beer industry’s 2023 performance was dragged down by two anchors: The continued decline of the once-meteoric hard seltzer segment and Bud Light’s calamitous losses in the face of a conservative-led boycott, Beer Marketer’s Insights senior editor Christopher Shepard said in his keynote address to the California Craft Beer Summit.

A panel of judges has upheld a jury decision that Constellation Brands did not violate its sublicense with Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) when it introduced Corona Hard Seltzer.

In the latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – Katie Beal Brown chats about the rollercoaster ride of turning a cherished family cocktail recipe into a nationally distributed, ready-to-drink product … and kicking off right before the pandemic turned the bev-alc world upside down.

In this latest round of distribution news, we check in with new coconut vodka water, Mother’s Milk and another fruit-infused vodka cocktail named after the same parent, Mom Water, as well as craft distillers Heritage Distilling and Frey Ranch, plus news from rum Coconut Cartel.

Two brands are positioning themselves as the “first” Black-owned hard seltzer brands hyper-focused on carving out a niche among the Black community.

San Diego-based hard kombucha and canned cocktail (RTD) maker JuneShine will acquire beyond beer brand Flying Embers in an all-stock transaction, the company announced today.