Hard seltzer dollar sales at convenience stores are increasing at nearly double the rates of the rest of the off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm NielsenIQ.
Over the last four weeks(ending February 6), off-premise dollar sales of hard seltzers increased 105% at convenience stores compared to the same period last year, while sales increased 55.9% in food stores and 59.9% in drug stores. Across all off-premise channels, hard seltzer dollar sales increased 73.4% over the same four-week period in 2020.
Segment leader Mark Anthony Brands’ dollar sales in c-stores increased 67.8% over the last month — less than half the rate of its competitors, although off a bigger base.
Dollar sales of Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer, the segment’s second biggest brand, in c-stores increased +189%, while Diageo’s Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer grew 146.9% and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light Seltzer increased 157.4%.
In food stores, only Truly reached triple-digit growth, increasing sales 104.2% year-over-year. White Claw (+16.2%) and Bud Light Seltzer (+27.3%) posted double-digit gains, while Smirnoff’s dollar sales declined 4.3%.
At the manufacturer level, companies whose portfolios include powerhouse hard seltzer and FMB brands posted dollar sales growth that outpaced the overall beer category. Total beer, FMB, and cider dollar sales increased 11.6% at off-premise retailers for the four weeks ending February 6. Beer companies whose dollar sales outpaced the overall category included:
- Boston Beer (Truly, Twisted Tea) — +59.1%
- Constellation Brands (Corona Hard Seltzer) — +15.2%
- Mark Anthony Brands (White Claw, Mike’s Hard Lemonade) — +31.2%
- FIFCO USA (Seagram’s Escapes) — +13.5%
Dollar sales of the FMB segment (excluding hard seltzers) increased 16.7% over the last month, also outpacing the overall beer category. Segment leaders included Mike’s Hard Lemonade (+17.5%), Twisted Tea (+49.4%), Smirnoff Ice (+5.6%) and Seagram’s Escapes (+26.2%). The only FMB brand in NielsenIQ’s top five in decline was A-B’s Ritas line, which posted a -28% drop in off-premise dollar sales.
Other segments outpacing the overall beer category included craft (+13.2%), imports (+12%) and domestic super premiums (+13.8%).
The craft segment’s largest gains were in the c-store channel, where dollar sales increased 21.6% for the four weeks ending February 6. Among craft’s lead brand families, New Belgium recorded the strongest showing, with c-store dollar sales increasing 67%. New Belgium’s dollar sales increased 36.3% across all channels, 30.4% at food stores and 22.2% at drug stores.
Sierra Nevada was a distant second with overall off-premise dollar sales growth of 15.8% (+28.3% in c-stores, +11.5% in food stores, +10.7% in drug stores). Molson Coors Beverage Company’s Blue Moon grew overall off-premise dollar sales 14% overall (+17% in c-stores, +20% in food stores, -3.8% in drug stores).
Both Heineken-owned Lagunitas (+6.8%) and Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams (+3.4%) posted single-digit increases over the last month. Lagunitas’ dollar sales increased 8.7% in c-stores and 5.9% in food stores, but declined 8.7% in drug stores. Samuel Adams’ dollar sales declined 6.1% in c-stores and 21.4% at drug stores. The brand family’s dollar sales increased 10.6% in food stores.