With and Without Alcohol

I’ve been doing more than my fair share of grocery shopping these months, as we now stay at home for all of our meals. Going up and down the grocery aisles, it’s hard to miss the stacks and stacks of “hard seltzer” brands … seltzer water with alcohol. It’s hard to miss.

Along comes another entry from Topo Chico. I’m a huge fan. I found out about it from a wine and spirits influencer making cocktails on a YouTube video. See that influencer marketing stuff works!

It’s a 125 year old brand out of Mexico with a deep heritage and it does indeed make for a fabulous mixer. It’s evidently owned by Coca-Cola and will mark the company’s first entry into alcoholic beverages later this year.

It’s often hard to be a late entry into a category, but given the size and the spirit of the brands then I’m betting that it’s going to do quite well.

Now on the opposite end of the spectrum we have Budweiser Zero … beer with no alcohol and no sugar (ala Coke Zero). Again not a new idea but a new entry from the brand.

Love the style, the no sugar, and the no compromise … will certainly help to break through.

It’s just interesting to me how cluttered categories (which most are) can still continue to bring new items and renewed attention. Great to see new ideas coming!

What’s your experience? JIM