Hero95 founder and CEO Todd Simon noticed the twin consumer trends of health and wellness, and variety led to product proliferation in almost all categories.
“Whether it’s sports apparel, or protein bars, or non-alcoholic drinks, such as sports drinks or energy drinks, you have tons of brand options – sometimes dozens of brands to choose from,” he told Brewbound. “You see the protein bar section at Whole Foods, there’s a staggering amount of choices.
“But when you look to a low-calorie, low-carb beer that’s explicitly for that healthy active lifestyle, there’s only one dominant player in that segment,” he continued.
Simon and head brewer David Sipes launched Hero95 last month in Boston. The brand aims to capture share from Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Michelob Ultra, that “one dominant player” in the better-for-you light lager segment. Michelob Ultra accounted for 62.7% of all dollars spent on the super premium segment in multi-outlet retailers and convenience stores for the 52 week-period ending January 28, according to market research firm Circana.
Several challengers have attempted to take share from Michelob Ultra at the national level and have failed, including Molson Coors-owned Saint Archer Gold and Boston Beer-owned Marathon Brewing 26.2, both of which were shuttered by their parent companies.
Michelob Ultra was the third-best selling beer in off-premise retailers (grocery stores, convenience stores, mass retailers and liquor stores) with dollar sales of $3.338 billion last year, according to market research firm NIQ. Despite a rocky performance from sibling band Bud Light, Michelob Ultra’s dollar sales were roughly flat (-0.1%) and its volume declined -2.5%.
In NIQ-tracked retailers in the Northeast, Michelob Ultra is less dominant. For the 52-week period ending January 27, it was the fifth-largest brand in the beer category with slight gains in dollar share (+0.08 sharepoints, to 2.98% of beer category dollars). Michelob Ultra’s dollar sales increased +3.1%, to $43 million, and volume declined -1.5%.
Hero95 styles itself as a better tasting option with a philanthropic heart. The beer checks in at 4% ABV with 95 calories and 3.4 grams of carbohydrates. It combines two-row pale malt, Munich malt and Noble hop, but its light profile means “there’s not a lot to hide behind,” Sipes said.
“It is a very difficult style of beer to brew, being light, crisp, super balanced, super drinkable, but there’s not a tremendous amount of flavor,” Sipes said. “There’s enough flavor to know you’re drinking a beer but it’s very light, very refreshing.”
Simon and Sipes met as colleagues at Boston Beer, makers of Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head. Simon spent several years as a brand strategist on several of the Boston Beer brands, while Sipes was there for nearly 20 years as a brewer, cider maker and ingredient procurement leader.
Both left the company and explored other roles for a few years, with Simon spending time at a retail-centric start up where he was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug.
“I really liked the pace, the culture, the riding the wave of uncertainty, and I knew that was a good fit for what I wanted to do next, but on my own, so I just needed an idea,” Simon said. “I looked within and I knew I had a passion for the beer business and also live, or try to live, a healthy active lifestyle and I want beers that match that. And the options just weren’t cutting it from a taste and brand values perspective.”
Hero95 is available on draft and in 12 oz. can 6-packs in Boston. The beer brand is contract brewed at Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Isle Brewers Guild.
“They have a talented team of brewers and quality control people,” Simon said. “They have a long track record of brewing this style of beer, and they’re very strategically located in the northeast, along [Interstate] 95 to eventually serve the region.”
Hero95 has signed with Norton, Massachusetts-based Horizon Beverage, whose beer portfolio includes Heineken, Harpoon, SweetWater, Narragansett, Switchback, Grey Sail and Partake. Horizon, which also sells wine and spirits, has statewide coverage in Massachusetts, and operates a sister facility in Rhode Island.
For now, Hero95 is hyper-focused on Boston, and is concentrating on-premise efforts in accounts along the Boston Marathon route.
“The strategy is to go deep, not wide, for the first phase of the rollout,” Simon said. “Horizon is working with us on that and they’re on board with that approach. They’ve been great. And we eventually expect to fill in the gaps in eastern Massachusetts as we go and then expand? after we see how that goes.”
Inspired by the thousands of runners who enter the Boston Marathon as fundraising runners – people who don’t meet Boston’s competitive qualifying times, but pledge to raise thousands of dollars for charities – Hero95 has launched HeroBoost, a fund that will donate $95 to marathon runners’ chosen causes for up to 95 athletes in the run up to the April 15 race.
“When you combine a great tasting beer with a socially conscious mission, and wrap it into the hero concept – where we believe that the hero within yourself and our everyday heroes should be celebrated – in addition to the causes, we think that goes beyond the beer,” Simon said.
The brand isn’t wedded to the Boston Marathon, and is exploring opportunities with other athletic pursuits. Hero95 hosted a kickoff party with the Boston Midnight Runners run club earlier this month, according to an Instagram post.
“We are looking at a variety of athletic events and across a range of athletic activities, whether it’s a CrossFit challenge or triathlon or a cycling event,” Simon said. “We want to see how the marathon goes, but the Boston calendar is full of these kinds of group outings or group events … so as long as you’re getting exercise, raising money for a good cause and celebrating it along the way with a light and refreshing beer. That’s sort of our sweet spot.”