5 New Alcohol Beverages
By Steve Dwyer on Jan. 12, 2023While flavored malt beverages (beer-based formulations) dominate the overall “pie” within the packaged alcoholic beverage universe, more consumers are making a shift to either add or replace traditional FMBs with canned cocktails.
Drizly’s 2022 Consumer Trend Report revealed that 22% of respondents cited ready-to-drink spirits-based cocktails as the canned drink “they anticipate buying more of” in the future. That’s 2% ahead of hard seltzer (20%) and 10% ahead of lager (11%), according to the Boston-based online deliver provider.
One emerging brand is Freshie Organic Tequila Seltzer.
“As the popularity of Freshie grew among our friends we took note that interest in tequila, hard seltzer drinks and better-for-you drinks was soaring,” said Ryne Iseminger, co-founder of Freshie. “Our standards were high. Freshie needed to be USDA-certified organic and made from sustainable, non-GMO ingredients and responsibly produced without sacrificing the taste and freshness of the drink we’d been making for ourselves.”
Convenience store trends around seltzers and cocktails “have slightly outpaced other channels, most notably grocery and drug,” said Michael Wyatt, beverage specialist for Chicago-based IRI. “However, the majority of sales volume and growth still comes from the aforementioned traditional segments and the top brands within those respective segments.”
Package format growth has been “somewhat polarizing in 2022 as we’ve seen singles and 12-packs lead in number of new items and growth contribution,” Wyatt said. “This is somewhat indicative of a multi-channel strategy used by most manufacturers in which singles are used primarily in c-store for trial and impulse buys while 12-packs are used to target new and existing consumers with a good-value offering primarily in mass and club.”
Click ahead for five recent packaged alcoholic beverage debuts within the c-store.
Aprch Beverage Fruit Punch
Aprch Beverage released Fruit Punch, the newest flavor to join its CBD Sparkling Water portfolio. Featuring the artwork of Jess Mudgett, inspired by open roads and high desert mountains, Fruit Punch features a flavor combination of cranberry, grape, pineapple, orange and lime. Fruit Punch contains zero calories, zero sugar, zero sodium and zero caffeine, along with 25 milligrams of Aprch’s proprietary Broad Spectrum Hemp Extract.
Build by Pulp Culture+
The Every Co. enters the alcohol beverage space with a first-of-its-kind innovation in Build by Pulp Culture+, noted as the first protein-boosted hard juice. The hyper-functional full-spectrum beverage is enhanced by probiotics, adaptogens, source-verified super fruits, superfoods and animal-free Every Protein. The move into the space occurs in partnership with AB InBev’s BioBrew unit. “We know people, especially fitness enthusiasts, want the positive outcomes of a better beverage that naturally contains alcohol,” says Brendan Brazier, co-founder of Pulp Culture and former Ironman triathlete.
Osena Spiked Coconut Water
Osena Spiked Coconut Water is spiked coconut water that contains zero sugar and naturally occurring electrolytes from Fair Trade and sustainably produced coconuts. The alcohol-based wellness drink offers a hint of sweetness at 100 calories per 12-ounce can and 5% ABV.
CQ carbonated spritzer
California’s original cannabis beverage CQ is debuting a new line of carbonated spritzer drinks that features flavors such as Blackberry Lemon Lime, Mandarin Dream, Pear Vanilla Cardamom and Watermelon Cucumber. Spritzers are CQ’s first foray into 5-milligram, single-serve cans. CQ is vegan, sweetened with cane sugar and real fruit juice and contains no artificial colors, gluten or GMO ingredients.
Freshie Organic Tequila
Freshie Organic Tequila, the first organic tequila seltzer brand that is USDA-certified organic, debuts two flavors—Grapefruit Guava and Blood Orange Habanero—as well as an 8-can variety pack. The 8-can variety pack offers four existing-flavors: Lime, Grapefruit Guava and Blood Orange Habanero.
“Freshie is gaining traction in regional c-stores in Florida and Illinois,” said Paige Iseminger, co-founder of Freshie. “In Florida, our focus has been on the beach communities and major cities like Tampa/St. Pete and the Panhandle. In Illinois, we’ve developed specific POS for smaller-footprint retail partners.”