Remember when La Croix’s seltzer water hit the scene and people went crazy over it? And the responses were pretty divided. Either you loved it or hated it, but it was popular enough to inspire many brand spinoffs. And in the last year the popular drink has experienced and evolution with the introduction of hard seltzer. 

White Claw Sets the Scene

White Claw was the first spiked Seltzer to really hit it big. Although the company hit the market in 2016, it didn’t seem to really gain popularity until 2019. And the sales reflect that as the volume sold grew 275% over 2019. This has prompted some other heavy hitters in the alcohol industry to try to grab a piece of the pie.

Expanding Brands

Just a few weeks ago Bud Light launched a hard seltzer that has been rising quickly in popularity. While White Claw still owns 60% of the hard seltzer market, Bud Light Seltzer is available in twice as many stores and sales so far indicate it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Coors is set to add their name to the quick growing list of the beverage manufacturers. Branded as Vizzy Hard Seltzer, Coors will release their new beverage line this March of 2020. 

Another giant in the US market, Corona, is set to launch a hard seltzer line this spring. Their launch will initially include 4 different flavors and could gain an edge over the other brands because of the lower calorie count. Most hard seltzers contain 100 calories per serving, while Corona will contain 90. 

Looking to pioneer adult seltzers in Europe, Carlsberg plans to pilot a launch of their hard seltzer sometime in 2020.

Why Hard Seltzer is Taking Over

The thing about hard seltzers is that they’re light, crisp, refreshing, much lower in calories and… contain alcohol. With the social climate becoming more health conscious it’s no surprise that alcohol brand giants are looking to lean into the craze. 

Most seltzers are already low in sugar and calories, but brands are finding ways to set themselves apart in this market by infusing different healthy twits. In fact, Vizzy (Coor’s brand), is looking to market themselves aggressively as a “healthy” adult beverage. Made with acerola cherry, this drink will contain 30 times more vitamin C than an orange.

While personally, I wasn’t a fan of the bubbly waters, I have to say… there’s something to this adult version that my palette doesn’t mind at all. Being that, I too, am trying to am trying to get on the healthy train, hard seltzers might be my new go-to when I do want to partake in adult beverage fun time.