Molson Coors chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques laid out the company’s 2025 strategy in the U.S. as part of its “next chapter” as she opened the 2024 distributor convention in San Antonio Tuesday afternoon.
St. Jacques acknowledged the beer category’s headwinds, but she sees an opportunity to drive future growth by forging connections with younger legal-drinking-age consumers and a portfolio of beverages with and without alcohol at different price points.
In 2024, Molson Coors’ core brands – Coors Light, Miller Lite and Coors Banquet – have retained about 80% of their peak share gains from the prior year. Those brands have also grown by more than 20 million cases since 2020 and increased net sales revenue by more than +25%, St. Jacques said.
Although the core remains a top priority, Molson Coors will put a large focus on its above premium portfolio (Blue Moon and Peroni Nastro Azzurro), its flavored alcoholic beverages (Simply Spiked, Happy Thursday, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and others) and non-alcoholic (NA) brands (energy drink ZOA). St. Jacques said the company’s innovation in 2025 will be centered on above premium brands. She said the company plans to boost investment behind the brands, as well as more people to support those brands and unlock their growth potential.
A big part of Molson Coors’ 2025 strategy will be NA beverages.
Molson Coors VP of NA beverages Kevin Nitz revealed during Tuesday‘s meeting that the company has formed a “strategic partnership” with Naked Life to bring Australia’s No. 1 NA ready-to-drink cocktail brand to the U.S.
“I dare you to tell me there isn’t any alcohol in there,” Nitz said. “And unlike many of the competitors in this space, Naked Life tastes fantastic.”
Naked Life will launch in the U.S. in March 2025 in five classic cocktail and mixed drink styles – Mojito, Margarita, Cosmo, Classic G&T and Negroni – through direct-to-consumer e-commerce and select retails before going to distributors.
Naked Life is “crafted with distilled botanicals” and natural sweeteners and contains less than 10 calories per can.
Another NA priority for Molson Coors is ZOA, which St. Jacques believes has the potential to be a top energy drink brand. The company plans to add to its NA brand portfolio and put more marketing and sales support behind ZOA, and will go deeper into the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson “Big Dwayne Energy” ad campaign to build awareness for the brand.
The goal is to sample 1 million cans of ZOA in 2025.
Flavored alcoholic beverages will remain a big component of Molson Coors’ above premium strategy too. St. Jacques promised to be “laser focused,” with flavored malt beverage (FMB) Simply Spiked as its top priority in flavored adult beverages (FAB). In just three years, Simply Spiked has become a $100 million brand and topped 1 million barrels.
Happy Thursday, the bubble-free refresher brand that launched earlier this year, will also be a pillar in Molson Coors’ flavor strategy. St. Jacques noted that due to wholesaler support in Wisconsin, the brand is the No. 3 FAB in grocery in the Badger State.
St. Jacques wrapped the opening address stating: “Over the past few years, we’ve made so much progress transforming our business together, and we are committed to making the next chapter the best one yet, and that also means being your best partner.”