A-B Adds Second Variety Pack
Anheuser-Busch InBev is “remixing” its Bud Light Seltzer variety pack, adding three new flavors — Cranberry, Grapefruit and Pineapple — that will be featured in a second variety 12-pack with its Strawberry flavor. The new mixed packs are expected to be on store shelves nationwide by Monday, August 31.
The existing Bud Light Seltzer variety pack — featuring Black Cherry, Lemon Lime, Mango and Strawberry — is already A-B’s 10th best-selling product in off-premise retailers tracked by IRI and the 28th best selling product year-to-date.
The original variety pack’s sales have surpassed each individual Truly Hard Seltzer pack. (Still, Boston Beer Company’s Truly brand family is much larger than Bud Light Seltzer as a whole, increasing sales 180.7%, to $543 million through early August.).
The variety pack has already racked up more than $155.5 million in dollar sales year-to-date through August 9, and 0.59 dollar share of the beer category. Over the last four weeks, Bud Light Seltzer’s variety pack has increased its share of the category to 0.82.
That existing mix pack will continue on in addition to the remix pack, which A-B tapped DJ Khaled to introduce.
Through early August here’s how those individual Bud Light Seltzer flavors are selling:
- Black Cherry: nearly $12.8 million
- Strawberry: nearly $9.5 million
- Mango: about $6.7 million
- Lemon Lime: $2.7 million
After launching earlier this year, the Bud Light Seltzer brand family has quickly cracked market research firm IRI’s top 25 brand families, recording $212.6 million in sales in off-premise retailers year-to-date.
According to market research firm Nielsen, hard seltzers have captured 10.5% share of off-premise beer dollar sales for the 11 weeks ending August 15. In the latest one-week period ending August 15, the hard seltzer segment increased dollar sales 123%.
Canada’s Nude Hard Seltzer Launches in the US
The increasingly crowded U.S. hard seltzer segment is gaining some competition from Canada. Canada’s Nude Hard Seltzer is launching nationwide in the U.S. via some heavyweight wholesalers.
Nude will be represented by:
- Columbia Distributing in Washington and Oregon;
- Reyes in most of California, except for Scout Distribution in San Diego and Columbia in Santa Rosa;
- Breakthru Beverage in Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Illinois;
- The A-B network in Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, North Dakota and parts of Michigan;
- Sheehan Family Companies in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut;
- And Muller Inc. and Wilson-McGinley Inc. in Pennsylvania.
Nude, which was founded in 2017, has sold more than 70 million cans in Canada, according to a press release.
Nude comes in four flavors — Classic Lime, Peach, Raspberry Lemon and Mango — and is sold in 6-packs ($8.99-$10.99) of individual flavors, as well as mixed 12-packs ($14.99-$19.99) and 24-packs ($25.99-$27.99). Each 12 oz. offering checks in at 5% ABV, with zero sugar and no sweeteners or carbs.
“Not only do we have the best tasting hard seltzer, but unlike leading seltzers in the U.S., we don’t have any sugar, sweeteners, or carbs,” Nude founder Julius Makarewicz said in the release. “We are here to set a new standard in the category.”
Shotgun Seltzer Announces New GM, Sales Leaders
Austin, Texas-based Shotgun Seltzer announced the hiring of four key leadership positions today, including naming Craig Reeves as general manager.
The move is a promotion for Reeves, who had served as sales director for Texas Libations, Shotgun Seltzer’s parent company.
Reeves brings sales and marketing experience to the role, having worked in leadership roles at Houston-based Silver Eagle Distributors and Austin’s Brown Distributing Company in the past.
In addition to Reeves’ promotion, Shotgun Seltzer filled three key sales positions:
- Timm Aldrich was named chain sales manager. He brings three decades of national account experience having previously worked at Kraft Heinz and MillerCoors. He’ll be tasked with building relationships with top retailers in and out of Texas.
- Terry Nance was named sales manager for the west region. He brings two decades of experience having worked at PepsiCo, Odom Corp. and Alaskan Brewery.
- David Garcia was named east region sales manager. He’s held senior sales manager roles with Andrews Distributing, McKenzie River and Phusion Projects over the last quarter century.
“We are thrilled with the new additions to our team,” Shotgun Seltzer co-founder Brad Foster said in the release. “It’s been an exciting year for Shotgun Seltzer. As we continue to grow, we are focused on delivering the highest quality crafted seltzer. Our hiring practices are no different. We are diligent in our pursuit of hiring the best.”
Shotgun Seltzer, which launched in July 2019 as a draft hard seltzer product but now offers packaged product, is distributed by 15 wholesalers in Texas to more than 2,200 points of distribution. The company said Shotgun Seltzer was the top-selling craft hard seltzer brand in Texas multi-outlet retailers tracked by IRI for the 13-week period ending July 12.