Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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www.beveragedynamics.com September/October 2014 • Beverage Dynamics 17 Beer Growth Brands That said, the following identifi es the fastest-growing and most promising beer brands in the U.S. market today. FAST TRACK GROWTH BRANDS To be considered a Fast Track brand, domestic beers must have exceeded 9 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2013, and imported brands/ microbrews must have exceeded 1.5 million with double-digit growth over the past four years. Dos Equis continues its domination at the top of the Fast Tack beer brands: It recorded annual compound growth of 18.5% from 2009 to 2013. The Mexican lager reached 23.2 million cases last year, up from 18.7 million in 2012 and 16.1 million in 2011. The brand, which has been owned by Heineken USA since 2010, this past spring launched Dos Equis Dos-A-Rita, a ready-to-serve lager Margarita modeled after the popular cocktail recipe. Sierra Nevada Torpedo, an American IPA from Chico, CA-based Sierra Nevada Brewing, moved over from the Rising Star category to the Fast Track list this year. It reached 5.4 million cases sold in 2013, up 25.1% from the previous year. Once again, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy posted the most sig- nifi cant annual compound growth rate from 2009 to 2013 — 59.1% — of all the Fast Track brands. The seasonal wheat beer mixed with lemonade, which came out in 2007, was up 25% in 2013, to 5.4 million cases. Still, Lagunitas IPA from Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma, CA, posted the most impressive growth from 2012 to 2013 — 55.9% to 1.8 million cases sold. The IPA is the company's fi rst seasonal. RISING STAR GROWTH BRANDS Rising Star Growth Brands are, well, on the rise: There are 19 Rising Stars in 2014 versus 12 in 2013 and seven in 2012. Rising Star brands must be under fi ve full years of age and have exhibited notable growth during the past few years. Interestingly, three out of the 19 Rising Star Growth Brands are Bud Light Ritas, four are ciders and most of the remaining brands are craft beer releases. Indeed, the top two Rising Star brands are Anheuser-Busch InBev's Bud Light Ritas: Straw-Ber-Rita and Lime-A-Rita. How popular is Bud Light Lime-a-Rita? The Margarita-fl avored malt beverage, which was introduced in 2012 (with an 8% ABV), was up 40% in 2013, reaching 10.2 million 2.25-gallon cases. But the original Lime-a Rita has already been eclipsed by the Bud Light Straw-Ber-Rita fl avor, which was unveiled in late March 2013 and has already sold 11.3 million 2.25-gallon cases in less than a year. Then there's Bud Light Lime Cran-Brrr-Rita, which was introduced as a limited-time seasonal offering in 2013. The company sold 500,000 2.25-gallon cases of Cran-Brrr-Rita last year. AB-InBev introduced two new permanent fl avors to the Bud Light Lime franchise in spring 2014: Mang-O-Rita and Raz-Ber-Rita. FAST TRACK BRANDS Domestic Brands must have exceeded 9 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2013, and imported brands/microbrews must have exceeded 1.5 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2013, with double-digit growth over each of the past four years. (000 2.25-Gallon Cases) '12-'13 '09-'13 Brand Supplier 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 % Change ACGR Dos Equis Heineken USA 11,750 14,000 16,100 18,680 23,190 24.1% 18.5% Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy MillerCoors 850 1,280 2,300 4,350 5,440 25.1% 59.1% Sierra Nevada Torpedo Sierra Nevada Brewing 520 890 1,380 2,060 2,420 17.5% 46.9% Lagunitas IPA Lagunitas Brewing Co. 490 630 970 1,180 1,840 55.9% 39.2% ACGR Annual Compound Growth Rate. To learn more go to www.bevinfostore.com Cider remains a small fraction of the beer market, but the category's growth in recent years is remarkable. { }