Some of the biggest names on the Gold Coast have collaborated to launch an alcoholic seltzer called Hard FIZZ.

The brand is founded by dance music star FISHER and his wife Chloe, Mad Hueys co-founder Joel Scott, art director and Raen Eyewear founder Justin Heit and global drinks veteran Wade Tiller.

FISHER was nominated for Best Dance Release at the 2018 Aria Awards, as well as the Best Dance Recording category at the Grammy Awards for his solo single “Losing it” in 2019 as well as “Losing It” finishing second in Triple J’s top 100 that year. 

Hard FIZZ is an all-natural 77 calorie, 99.5% sugar-free beverage range that comes in three flavours.

“Better-for-you-drinking and living a balanced lifestyle are driving drinking trends globally and locally, and there really is no better place to create and launch Hard FIZZ than right here on the Gold Coast,” said Tiller.

“Hard FIZZ is the biproduct of our collective experience working across music, surf, culture and booze internationally. It’s a neat lifestyle brand that’s all about bringing fun to the category and making the most of both mornings and nights.”

“FISHER and Chloe have spent the past two summers in the US, seeing first-hand the
explosion of the hard seltzer category over there – and there’s no doubt this year will be the summer for seltzers in Australia. We’re excited to be front and centre.”

Hard FIZZ also challenges the “sea of white and slim” cans currently in market.

“We just want to make people smile and feel like they’re a part of something,” said Scott.

“It’s not complicated – you can have fun and live a healthy lifestyle at the same time, they shouldn’t be mutually exclusive”.

Professional surfers Laura Enever and Nikki Van Dijk are among the all-star line-up of
shareholders, along with celebrity chef and TV personality Hayden Quinn (above), international DJ Tigerlily, DJ and fitness model Brooke Evers and hospitality stalwart Billy Cross.

“We’ve pulled together a sick family to blow this baby up over summer; we’re all mates and we’re going to have a ton of fun doing it,” said FISHER.

With international surfing events and music tours ruled out in 2020, it’s been all hands on deck for the Hard FIZZ crew with many of them unable to ply their normal trade.

Joining Hard FIZZ from Stone & Wood, head of brewing and operations Paul Wootton says much of that time was spent nailing the drink flavours.

“People will be pleasantly surprised because what we’ve delivered is what a seltzer should taste like,” he said.

“We’ve brewed it from a fermented base and wanted to create a real punch of flavour at the front with a super clean crisp finish.

“Our summer launch range offers an Aussie classic like Orange and Mango, with trending combos like Lemon and Ginger and Watermelon and Berry – a flavour for every palate. But our production is agile and collaborative, and we can easily identify and experiment with new flavours.”

Hard FIZZ is available from select retailers, online retailers and bars across Australia’s east coast. It’s available to purchase via ALM (QLD, NSW, VIC/TAS), Paramount Liquor (NSW, VIC), Liquid Specialty Beverages (QLD) and ILG (QLD and NSW).

The team are scaling production to meet demand and plan to launch in WA, SA and NT in January 2021.

Hard seltzer sales predicted to hit $300m in Australia