Sierra Nevada shared its 2024 brand plans today with wholesalers. The slate of new products will include new hazy and imperial IPAs, non-alcoholic beers and hop waters, and offerings for day drinking occasions.
Sierra Nevada brand director Kyle Ingram laid out the Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery’s innovation plans for 2024:
‘Doubling Down on Hazy’
Sierra Nevada is “doubling down on hazy” in 2024, Ingram shared. He noted that as Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing goes, so goes the hazy IPA segment. The introduction of a Hazy rotator this year is not cannibalizing the Hazy Little Thing brand in a meaningful way, Ingram added.
Year-to-date through July 29, off-premise sales of the hazy rotator have topped $6 million at retailers tracked by NIQ, making the offering the fifth ranked hazy beer and the No. 2 new craft item this year, Ingram noted.
Meanwhile, Hazy Little Thing sales are up +7.9%, to more than $68.8 million, per NIQ numbers shared by Ingram.
To build on the momentum, Sierra Nevada will launch Cosmic Little Thing double hazy IPA (8% ABV) in February as part of its Hazy rotator series. The brewery is working on two additional rotators that will be released later in 2024.
In the spring, Sierra Nevada will transition the Little Things Party Pack into the Little Things Hazy IPA variety can 12-pack. The variety pack will feature two pack-exclusive hazy IPAs, Tropical Little Thing and Dank Little Thing, which will join staples Hazy Little Thing and Juicy Little Thing.
Sierra Nevada is also developing a new Little Thing 9.5% hazy, juicy imperial IPA that will be exclusively sold in 19.2 oz. single-serve cans nationwide in early 2024. The convenience store play is still in development but will have a “juicy and citrusy flavor profile.” Ingram didn’t rule out expansion to other SKUs if the singles take off.
Non-Alcoholic IPA and Golden, Hop Water Line Extension on the Way
Sierra Nevada is taking aim at the non-alcoholic beer space, launching Trail Pass IPA and Golden in 6-pack cans. Those styles represent the top-selling non-alcoholic beer types in the off-premise market.
Both offerings will begin shipping on November 27 and be in market by January 1, supported by full retail and media campaigns. Each offering is 95 calories per 12 oz. can.
Ingram shared that the company has tested the beers multiple times over the last two years to nail down the liquid, including focus groups and consumer tasting panels. A test launch in May found:
- 94% “love it” or “like it;”
- 98% said they’d repurchase it;
- 82% said it “completely met expectations;”
- And 68% said it “tastes just like regular beer.”
Ingram added that they’ve learned that “trust” is the No. 1 purchase driver for new non-alc drinkers, so the company will leverage its brand equity in the space.
The flavor profile of the beers will be derived from brewing it similar to alcoholic versions of beers with a yeast strain that only produces a small amount of alcohol compared to competing brands that strip out the alcohol.
Hop water is also an essential piece of Sierra Nevada’s non-alc strategy. The company will begin shipping its first Hop Splash line extension, Hop Splash Citrus, on November 27. The year-round offering will be sold in 6-pack cans and line-priced with Hop Splash.
Hop Splash Citrus fills a need not currently being met in the hop water space, with the combination of hops and real fruit juice from red grapefruit and blood orange, Ingram said. The company’s research found a 92% purchase intent for hops and real fruit.
In eight months on the market, Sierra Nevada’s Hop Splash has a 15% share of the nearly $9 million hop water segment, trailing Lagunitas. Hop water accounts for 16% of non-alcoholic craft sales in NIQ-tracked channels, and is growing at +178% compared to last year.
“Admittedly Sierra Nevada might have been a touch late to the NA party,” Ingram said. “We’re here now, we’re here in a big way, and ready to claim our rightful place as the top brand in the NA category.”
Hop Bullet to Return as Spring Seasonal
Spring seasonal Hop Bullet IPA will be returning in 2024, but with a bit of a glow up. Hop Bullet Magnum Edition imperial IPA (9.5%), featuring magnum, eureka, helios and Idaho 7 hops will hit shelves in December.
Ingram said Hop Bullet was the most successful spring seasonal over the last five years and fans also requested its return. He added that Hop Bullet in 2018 “delivered twice the volume that our recent spring seasonals contributed.”
Hop Bullet Magnum Edition will be available in 6-, 12- and 24-pack cans and draft.
The rest of the seasonal lineup will remain the same after the successful returns of Summerfest and Oktoberfest this year and staple Celebration – but with new packaging designs and new collaborations, Ingram said.
Strainge Beast Evolves to Target Day Drinking Occasions
Sierra Nevada’s Strainge Beast flavored malt beverage brand continues to evolve. Ingram said the pivot from hard kombucha to Strainge Beast Mimosa has led to “tremendous results” in chains such as Target and Publix.
Ingram also admitted that the company may have stumbled upon a larger consumer trend: day drinking
As such, Sierra Nevada is adding “Day Drinks” to the name, seeing an opportunity to capitalize on day drinking occasions such as brunch.
The company will add White Sangria (7% ABV) to the Strainge Beast lineup to complement Mimosa, with “a similar, wine-based flavor profile” of peach, grape and orange.
Torpedo Brand Posting Growth For First Time in 3 Years
The Torpedo IPA brand family is posing positive growth for the first time since 2020, Ingram said. The Torpedo brand family has posted positive depletions since May, a 21% swing compared to 2022, Ingram shared. Rate of sale is up +5% year-to-date in the off-premise, and case sales are up nearly +7% over the last 15 weeks in NIQ data, Ingram added.
Torpedo Atomic Imperial IPA is now the 11th ranked imperial/double/triple IPA, although 6- and 12-packs are available in just six markets. That’ll change with 24 more states coming online in the fall and more in the future, Ingram said.
Atomic singles are the sixth ranked 19.2 oz. imperial/double/triple IPA on the market, and sales are up +120% compared to last year.
To keep the momentum going, Sierra Nevada will begin shipping a Torpedo variety pack in 12-pack bottles in February. The pack will feature Cold Torpedo Cold IPA and Cryo Fresh Torpedo Wet Hop IPA, in addition to Extra and Atomic.
Pale Ale Trends Improving
Sierra Nevada’s iconic Pale Ale is showing signs of stabilization this year behind the company’s “Still the One” campaign. Over the last 16 weeks those trends have improved and the brand is showing positive dollar sales growth compared to a year ago in six of the last 10 weeks, Ingram said.
Pale Ale’s key packages are showing growth, with 12-pack can volume growing in each of the last 12 weeks, and 6-pack can volume and dollar sales growing in seven out of the last 12 weeks, Ingram added.
Rate of sale is also improving, +2.3% in May, per NIQ numbers shared by Ingram, and a +1.7% trend year-to-date.
Ingram admitted that there remains “a lot of work to do” but the company is “making great strides.”