Focus On Refreshing
Summertime adult beverages brighten the beer, wine and spirits categories.
It's summertime, and the living is easy — especially when it involves adult beverages with a warm-weather twist.
Indeed, summer-themed alcoholic beverages are easy to find in all parts of the country these days, as the subcategory continues to grow with a slew of new products and a lineup of returning limited-time favorites. While a summer drink once meant an ice-cold can of beer at a ball game, a mint julep on the front porch, or a gin and tonic on the rocks at a garden party, a preview of the summer drink market for 2012 shows that this season is hotter than ever for grocers looking to draw customers to their beer, wine and spirits departments.
Befitting the season's popularity and relaxing vibe, just-for-summer products have penetrated nearly all of the adult beverage categories.
Summer-inspired flavors and, often, lighter body distinguish many of these products, along with packaging and promotions (think images of the sun and water) that underscore the perennial appeal of this season that extends, in retail time,
roughly from April to September. Adult beverage companies that offer such products agree that while summertime itself is fleeting, these limited-time products are likely here to stay.
"Consumers are seeking the right product for the right occasion. In the summer months, this often means an increased interest in light and refreshing sweeter-palate products," says Mike Potthoff, VP large format for St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch (A-B).
The plain old "ahhhh" factor can't be overlooked, either. "As consumers in the summertime, we spend more time outside, and it's obviously warmer," remarks Andy Horrow, chief marketing officer for Mike's Hard Lemonade Co. in Seattle. "Why Mike's does especially great in the summer has to do with refreshment, of course. What's more refreshing than lemonade?"
The importance of refreshment is underscored by Stephanie Gallo, VP of marketing for Modesto, Calif.based E&J Gallo Winery's Popular Business Unit, who notes that consumers are seeking refreshment across the adult beverage category: "While traditional summer beverages such as beer remain stable, we believe consumers are seeking new beverages that deliver on 'refreshing.'"
Hopped Up for Summer
Beer has always been a summer staple, but many brewing companies are taking it to the next level.
For example, Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Mich., first introduced a summer beer back in the early 1990s; flash-forward to 2012, and its Oberon ale, featuring malted wheat and fruity flavors, has such a cult following that bars and retailers have midnight release parties to welcome its seasonal introduction.
"It's really been consumer-driven excitement. In Michigan, especially when it's such a long winter, you know that when Oberon comes out, there is light at the end of the tunnel," declares Laura Bell, whose father named the beer after a character he played in a sixth-grade production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." For 2012, Bell says, the company is launching a new mini keg great for day trips to parks, beaches and lakeshores.
Certainly, many regional and smaller breweries that produce craft beers have seasonal summer beers on tap. O'Fallon Brewery offers an evocatively named Kite Tail Summer Ale. Goose Island Beer Co. offers the aptly titled Summertime, while Sierra Nevada has dubbed its seasonal beer Summer Fest.
Major national brewing companies have gotten in on the summer fun as well, and continue to focus R&D efforts on the temperate season.
Sam Adams Summer Ale, a wheat beer with a bit of lemon zest, remains a top seller for that brand. Summer Shandy, a beer-lemonade combo from Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. (a MillerCoors brand), also has developed an intense following, with similarly fervent lead-ups to its springtime launch.
"Since its 2007 introduction, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy has really become a phenomenon. Its growth and popularity has exceeded our expectations. A cult following would be an understatement," says Thomas Ryan, spokesman for Chicago-based MillerCoors.
The brand loyalty is so strong, in fact, that the Shandy name soon will extend beyond its traditional season. "We're looking to continue the shandy fever year-round by offering an autumn shandy and a winter shandy as well," Ryan says.
Meanwhile, A-B is introducing some new summer-oriented products this year. The company is extending its popular higher-end Shock Top brand — known for its sunny orange label — with a new Shock Top Lemon Shandy, sold in six- and 12-packs of bottles and 12-can packs. "For years, brewers around the world have experimented with fruit-flavored beer mixers, like shandies and radlers, which have been popular concoctions in Britain and Germany," Potthoff says. "When the temperatures start to warm up, you appreciate the added level of refreshment a lemonade flavor can bring to your beer."
Indeed, the fruit mixer trend evident in the shandy-style beers is reflected in another new A-B offering, Bud Light Lime-A-Rita. "What really separates Bud Light Lime-A-Rita from our other innovations is that it was consumers who placed Bud Light Lime into margarita occasions with homemade 'beer-ritas,'" Potthoff explains. "We're just adding a new level of convenience with a ready-to-drink package they can quickly serve over ice."
Lemonade's Stand
A good beer is a great match for summer's day, but, as shown by the growing popularity of shandy beers, lemonade and summertime are practically synonymous.
Mike's Hard Lemonade continues to enhance its brand with new products. "One of our most compelling innovations for this year is our 12-pack and 12-ounce can expansion into Black Cherry, our No. 2 flavor now, and Classic Margarita," Horrow says. "With these products, Mike's can become much more portable for barbecues, golf outings, the beach or wherever you want to take the party." Also new for summer: Mike's Strawberry Margarita in a 6-pack.
According to Horrow, a lot of excitement has been building around the launch of Mike's On the Rocks, a new 16-ounce can 4-pack of Long Island Iced Tea and Hurricane products. Horrow says On the Rocks "delivers the flavor and social wattage of mixed drinks with the convenience and ritual of beer."
The company's research shows a high acceptance among men, Horrow notes: "With a 71 percent purchase intent, 55 percent of guys agreed that Mike's On the Rocks has a different occasion than Mike's Hard Lemonade, so we're confident that it will be highly incremental."
A-B is also hot on a summer favorite made with lemonade, launching a new Ultra 19th Hole Light Tea & Lemonade, an iced-tea-and lemonade-flavored alcohol beverage inspired by the Arnold Palmer.
Refreshment is a common refrain on labels of other adult beverages for the season, including wines.
E&J Gallo is launching a brand extension this season called Refresh by Turning Leaf. "As the name implies, Refresh is crafted to offer a refreshing wine experience," Gallo says. "Its signature lighter style positions Refresh as a refreshing wine option not currently found in the wine category." Produced from California grapes, Refresh will be available in Crisp White, Moscato and Red Moscat, and is recommended served over ice with a citrus garnish.
Other types of premixed cocktail drinks — such as daiquiris and other tropical quaffs — are particularly well suited to late spring through early fall. The Skinnygirl Cocktails line, owned by Deerfield, Ill.-based Beam Inc., is touting Skinnygirl margaritas, along with one of its soon-to-launch products, the Skinnygirl Piña Colada.
Made in the Shades
As one might expect, packaging and promotions for summer adult beverages are replete with the motifs of the season.
Bell's Oberon label features what has become an iconic sun with a sky-blue backdrop. "Especially in stores, when you see that blue box with the sun on it, you know that the summer is coming," Bell declares.
For the new Bud Light offering, Potthoff says that summer images will be easy to spot on shelf. "The Bud Light Lime-a-Rita name and logo, which features a margarita glass, immediately reinforces the core message of the product: This is an authentic and convenient margarita-flavored alcohol beverage with a refreshing twist of Bud Light Lime," he says.
Likewise, the Turning Leaf Refresh bottle is all dressed up for summer. "The label is designed to have a light and refreshing feel on the shelf with its use of white space and bright color accent," Gallo says. "The iconic fall-colored leaf on the label is now a brighter green version that reflects the spring and summer seasons that the Refresh wines pair with best."
Retail promotions also play up the fun-in the-sun factor. Horrow says Mike's Hard Lemonade is kicking off a big retail and digital platform with LivingSocial to promote and give away trips to adult summer camps across the country.
For A-B, retail promotions also include collaborations with other summer staples at the grocery store. "We've found success in investing in cross-merchandising programs with other large food categories," Potthoff says. "The newest innovation to the Bud Light family of brands, Bud Light Lime-A-Rita, is partnering with Frito Lay's Tostitos brand for Cinco de Mayo, and this summer Budweiser and Bud Light are partnering with Johnsonville Brats and Doritos for the Fourth of July."
"While traditional summer beverages such as beer remain stable, we believe consumers are seeking new beverages that deliver on 'refreshing.'"
—Stephanie Gallo, E&J Gallo
"When the temperatures start to warm up, you appreciate the added level of refreshment a lemonade flavor can bring to your beer."
—Mike Potthoff, Anheuser-Busch