While 23-year-old Smirnoff Ice is around the same age as Gen. Z, the Diageo-owned flavored malt beverage (FMB) brand has been out of the spotlight in the past few years, as younger legal-drinking-age (LDA) consumers have gravitated toward new flashier beyond beer entrants such as Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw Hard Seltzer and E. & J. Gallo’s High Noon Sun Sips.
Not to be outshone, Smirnoff Ice has debuted a brand “reinvention” to show that “true classics never fade, they only get better,” according to a press release.
Diageo teased the refresh in September during the company’s annual Golden Bars Awards and Leadership Summit. As part of the refresh, the entire core Smirnoff Ice lineup has received updated packaging, with brighter colors and fruit imagery to emphasize the FMBs flavor-forward liquid. The beverage recipes remain the same – with the exception of minor formulation tweaks to Pink Lemonade and Red, White and Berry – with in-store displays promoting the “glow-up” as the “same swig, new swag,” brand director Lisa Lee told Brewbound.
Smirnoff Ice Zero Sugar is also getting a refresh this spring, again with more dynamic packaging. The zero sugar line has evolved to be entirely in cans, rather than bottles, highlighted in a new variety 12-pack with zero-sugar version of Ice Original, Raspberry, Pink Lemonade and Red, White and Berry. The line will also expand with a single-flavor 12-pack of Zero Sugar Red, White and Berry.
Due to the large number of SKUs within the Smirnoff Ice portfolio, a slow rollout of the refreshed brands has already begun, with “fully dressed shelves” expected in May, Lee said.
“The FMB category right now is having a huge moment, flavor continues to be what the people want, and we as a brand right now feel just perfectly poised to win in this space,” Lee said. “We like to say we are one of the O.G.s. The flavored malt beverage category, we co-created it. So, this is our opportunity to really take that back.”
FMBs recorded the second-largest percentage increase in dollars sales (+18.6%) among all beer segments in the last 52 weeks (ending April 2) in multi-outlet plus convenience channels, behind only non-alcoholic beer (+21%), according to market research firm Circana (formerly IRI). The segment recorded the largest percentage increase in volume (+11.6%) in the period, with non-alcoholic beer (+10.4%) just behind it.
FMBs (+0.3%) and non-alcoholic beer (+7.5%) were also the only two beer category segments to increase dollar sales in the single week ending April 3. FMBs recorded nearly $62 million in dollars sales during the week in Circana-tracked channels.
Smirnoff Ice recorded an +8% increase in dollar sales and +3% volume increase in off-premise channels (total U.S. xAOC + liquor plus + convenience) in the 52-week period, ending March 25, according to market research firm NIQ (formerly NielsenIQ). The FMB brand family recorded the fifth-highest dollar sales in the period among all “progressive adult beverages” (PAB) – including hard seltzers, ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs), and FMBs – behind Mark Anthony’s White Claw (No. 1) and Mike’s Hard Lemonade (No. 4) and Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer (No. 2) and Twisted Tea (No. 3).
The refresh is intended to toe the line between two “cohorts” of Smirnoff Ice consumers, Lee said. The first is the new LDA generation, which is “leaning into flavor” and “driving a lot of the growth within FMB.” The second, is the “loyal consumer base” or the “flavor enthusiasts,” who Diageo wants to “pay our homage and respect to,” Lee said.
“We’ve really landed in this sweet spot that delivers to both,” Lee said.
To help walk that line and usher in the new era of Smirnoff Ice, the company has partnered with comedian and former host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah, whose own fan base crosses multiple generations. Noah stars in seven new TV ads, titled “Here’s Some Adv-Ice,” which began rolling out last week.
Smirnoff Ice has also formed long-term partnerships with several music brands, including Live Nation, Warner Music Experience and Billboard, to take advantage of the music festival space.
“We’re seeing a 300% uptick in festival goership, just people wanting to get out and have fun again, and what better time and way to just associate ourselves with music and bringing people together,” Lee said.
In celebration of Smirnoff Ice’s reinvention, the company will also host a Smirnoff Ice Relaunch Tour. The “nostalgia driven celebration” will travel around the country, starting with New York City in May, and will surprise fans with “new experiences” and music performances from an array of artists, “from mainstay legends to the hottest newcomers on the scene, merging modern nostalgia in a bold one-two punch,” according to the release.