Hard MTN Dew – the partnership project between Boston Beer Company and PepsiCo Beverages – launched in three states this week: Florida, Iowa and Tennessee.
The product will expand into 13 more states by May, Boston Beer president and CEO Dave Burwick said during the company’s Q4 earnings call last week.
The 5%-ABV, 100-calorie flavored malt beverage (FMB) is available in four flavors – MTN Dew, Baja Blast, Black Cherry and Watermelon – in 24 oz. single-serve cans and 12 oz. variety 12-packs. Unlike the original soda inspiration, Hard MTN Dew has no caffeine and zero added sugar.
Boston Beer and PepsiCo announced Hard MTN Dew in August. Boston Beer developed and produced the FMB and will market it, while PepsiCo has set up a new wholesale entity – Blue Cloud Distribution – to sell, deliver and merchandise it.
Boston Beer founder Jim Koch recently said PepsiCo planned to get into the alcohol industry with or without his company, but wanted to work with them due to Burwick’s connection to PepsiCo and the MTN Dew brand.
“Dave turned it into what you know today, so they felt very comfortable doing business with us and having us do the marketing, frankly, because he’s the best marketer Mountain Dew’s ever had,” Koch said during the Beer Industry Summit last month.
“The core demographic for Mountain Dew now is 30 years old, 30 to 35,” he continued. “About 80% of the consumers and Mountain Dew are legal drinking age. We’ve got to remember it came of age in the ’90s, so a lot of the people who adopted it then and in the first part of the century are still drinking it because it is a very strong brand, a unique brand. There’s nothing else like it in soft drinks.”
Mountain Dew launched more than 80 years ago, intended as a mixer for alcoholic spirits, according to a press release. In 2004, Burwick – then serving as PepsiCo’s chief marketer – was “instrumental” in the creation of the soft drink’s Baja Blast flavor, according to a spokesperson.
Several non-alcoholic beverage producers have explored the adult beverages category in the past year, including: Simply Spiked Lemonade and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer from Coca-Cola and Molson Coors Beverage Company; Bang Hard Seltzer (formerly Bang MIXX) from Vital Pharmaceuticals-owned Bang Energy; Spindrift Spiked from Massachusetts-based sparkling water producer Spindrift; SunRise Hard Seltzer from Heineken USA and AriZona Iced Tea-maker Hornell Brewing. Coca-Cola will also launch Fresca Mixed, a spirit-based ready-to-drink canned cocktail, with Constellation Brands this year.
PepsiCo filed its own trademark application in June for its Rockstar brand in the beer and “alcoholic fruit cocktail drinks; alcoholic malt beverages, except beers; hard seltzer” categories.
While Hard MTN Dew will join a “relatively crowded market” of malt beverages,” PepsiCo believes the product will offer “a differentiated flavor with a very unique brand,” Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo CEO, said during the company’s Q3 earnings call in October.
During the company’s Q4 earnings report, Laguarta said Pepsi would “like to participate in a consistent and structural way,” via licensing brands to beer manufacturers. He also hinted that in the future the company could leverage its Blue Cloud Distribution infrastructure, and assets “to provide capital distribution and consistent execution across the country” for alcoholic beverages from third-party brands. He noted that the company is “working on that solution” with “some market tests” in progress, but didn’t offer further details.