Having helped engineer the hard seltzer boom, Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw is going soft.
The Chicago-based company announced yesterday the launch of White Claw 0% Alcohol, a four-SKU line – available in Black Cherry Cranberry, Mango Passion Fruit, Peach Orange Blossom and Lime Yuzu – of “premium seltzer for adults,” set to begin rolling out in variety 12-packs and single flavor 6-packs on January 1, 2024.
News of the non-alcoholic (NA) brand extension first came out in August.
It’s an ironic development in White Claw’s prodigious run thus far: having answered the call in 2016 from consumers looking for a lower-calorie, sessionable, alcoholic ready-to-drink (RTD). The brand is now looking to offer those same fans a zero-proof product that aligns with their growing desire to drink less, particularly during Dry January.
Citing results of an internal survey, Mark Anthony said interest in “sober curious” or “damp” lifestyles were strong across Gen Z and Millennials, but also that 64% of consumers wish there were better non-alcoholic options available. Those shoppers would be more likely to choose zero-proof drinks based on flavors (83%), brands they recognize (72%), had electrolytes (72%) and were low-sugar (71%).
“The industry is ripe for disruption as demand for flavorful, non-alcoholic drinks is one the rise, but current options like excessively sweet cocktails, bland waters and near-beers are disconnected from what today’s adult drinkers want,” Mark Anthony president Phil Rosse, said, touting the product as paving the way for “an entirely new adult beverage.”
While Mark Anthony remains bullish on hard seltzer, the release places White Claw in the ranks of sparkling water brands with products on both sides of the alcoholic divide, joining the likes of Spindrift, Polar and Coca-Cola and Molson Coors’ Topo Chico. But White Claw’s claims of the new NA beverage with “all the taste and complexity” of an alcoholic drink also suggest it’s being positioned to compete with innovative zero-proof sparkling RTDs and NA beers from HOP WTR, Hoplark HopTea, Brewbound’s 2023 Large Brewer of the Year Athletic Brewing and others.
“White Claw 0% Alcohol is made non-alcoholic from the start, so it’s not a lesser version of anything, it’s more. The result is a bold, refreshing choice that tastes like no other adult drink available,” said Rosse.