Bad hard seltzers They have positioned themselves as a success story in the US beer market and are experiencing great exposure due to their features and consumer benefits.
In North America where the new species is rare alcohol Taking nearly 10% of the total market, stout beers are fast approaching this benchmark within the traditional beer segment in North America, according to the latest report Rabobank Beer Quarterly.
Continuing the trend, Anheuser-Busch InBev launched Bud Light Seltzer for the healthier segment, while El de Leinenkugel debuted a beer-seltzer hybrid called Spritzen in three flavors based on fruity flavors.
“We expect significant sales growth in the US hard seltzer market and could see this category reach 20% of all beer in the next five years,” says Jim Watson, senior beverage analyst at Rabobank in New York, US.
Hard seltzers, an unknown segment in Asia
Although consumers in Asia are not familiar with hard seltzers, several alcoholic beverages are ready to drink (RTD) with strong consumer appeal. Across Japan, for example, shochu highballs, called chลซhai, are one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage categories, according to Rabobank.
A typical chลซhai is offered to the public in a single presentation, colorful tin package. While packaged chลซhai can have a high ABV of up to 9%, freshly made traditional chลซhai has a low alcohol content and allows for customization of flavor and alcohol strength.
Most packaged chลซhai have vodka as the base spirit instead of shochu, to manage costs. But there are as many common product characteristics between chuhai and hard seltzers as there are differences, according to the Rabobank report.
Australia is at the forefront of this segment
With more than 30 brands introduced in 2020 alone, Australia is the leader in the Asia-Pacific hard seltzer market. In other Asia-Pacific markets โ China, India and Singapore โ hard seltzer has been introduced to local retail or is awaiting such launches.
In the rest of Asia, brands have taken on the task of innovating in the market and positioning themselves to build consumer appeal and consumption opportunities for hard juices.
Among the featured flavors in this beverage category, Asian profiles such as yuzu and cherry blossom are trending. With positioning trend “better for you” hard seltzer players are moving quickly with releases of related offerings.
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