Beverage Dynamics

Beverage Dynamics Sept-Oct 2015

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 2015 • Beverage Dynamics 31 W hen it comes to growth in the beer business, it's still all about the craft. Domestic craft beer was up 15.2% in 2014, according to the Beverage Information and Insights Group, the research unit of Beverage Dynamics' parent company. Meanwhile, overall beer volume decreased 0.5% from 2013 to 2014, to 2.8 billion 2.25-gallon cases, and total domestic beer, which has an 85.7% share of the market, fell 1.5% to 2.4 billion cases. Imported beer fared better: Consumption increased 6.3% to 403.8 million 2.25-gallon cases, boosting the category's share from 13.3% in 2013 to 14.3% this past year. Brands from Mexico are leading the way: The top Established Growth Brand is Corona Extra, which sold 107.7 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2014. In second place on that list is pilsner-style lager Modelo Especial, with 59.9 million cases sold. Another Mexican pilsner-style, Pacifi co, made the Established Growth Brands list, as did lager-style Tecate Light. The top Fast Track Brand is Heineken USA's Dos Equis, while the list of Rising Star brands includes Modelo Especial Chelada. Launched in 2013, the ready-to-drink beer beverage is fashioned after the traditional tomato/lime/salt fl avored Michelada. But the serious growth once again came from ciders, which are included in our beer Growth Brands. Overall sales of hard cider increased 63.1% from 2013 to 2014, reaching 27.7 million 2.25-gallon cases. In fact, several of the brands that posted the most impressive growth rates this year were ciders, including Angry Orchard, Crispin Cider and Stella Artois Cidre (pronounced "see-dra"). RISING STAR GROWTH BRANDS A sure sign of hard cider's strength, four of the 16 Rising Star brands this year are ciders. Rising Stars are defi ned as brands under fi ve full years of age that have exhibited substantial growth during the past few years. In fact, the leading Rising Star Brand this year is Angry Orchard hard cider, launched in 2012 by Boston Beer Co. Also the top-selling cider brand in the U.S., Angry Orchard reached 14.3 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2014—an hefty increase of 81.0% over 2013. In addition to Angry Orchard, the Rising Star ciders are the Smith & Forge, a cider targeted to men from MillerCoors, as well as Johnny Appleseed and Stella Artois cidre, both from Anheuser-Busch InBev. Rising Star Redd's Apple Ale, a golden ale with red apple hints, reached 8.6 million 2.25-gallon cases in 2014. MillerCoors, which launched in Redd's in 2012, launched a Strawberry version in 2014, which hit 1.5 million cases last year. The company added a Wicked Mango fl avor in spring 2015 and at press time had just unveiled a Black Cherry offering. THE BUZZ ON FMBS Fermented malt beverages (FMBs) increased 5.5% , driven by Bud Light Lime-a-Ritas, A-B InBev's three- year-old line of Margarita-fl avored drink. Bud Light Lime Apple-Ahhh- Rita, a limited-time-only seasonal offering, reached 315,000 cases last fall. But the Mango expression of the line is evidently the most popular. It hit 7.5 million 2.25-gallon cases, while the Raz-Ber- Rita reach 5.9 million cases; both fl avors were released in spring 2014. The Cran-Brrr-Rita seasonal doubled from 600,000 cases sold in 2013 to 1.9 million in 2014. The fl avored malt beverage category has historically had the highest turnover rate in the industry, says Adam Rogers, manager of information services for the Beverage Information and Insights Group. "Growth is hard to sustain, since companies come out with extensions so quickly that it's almost hard to distinguish the core brand in the line," he notes. When playing in the FMB category, it's important to have a core brand extension as the base, especially when taking into account the brands that surpassed the test of time, such as Twisted Tea and Mike's Hard Lemonade. "Those brands continue year-over-year increases because the consumers know where they began," Rogers says. BEER IN SESSION Just fi ve of the Rising Stars were conventional beers. Guinness Blonde American Lager from the makers of Guinness Stout, made its debut this past October. The new beer, made in Latrobe, PA, using American hops and Guinness' 125-year-old yeast, sold 250,000 cases in 2014. Miller Fortune, an American golden lager with 6.9% ABV, is targeted to whiskey drinkers. The bourbon-like beer, packaged in a black bottle, was

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