While Australia is new to the hard seltzer scene, the market is rapidly maturing in the US. Drinks companies are scrambling to innovate and keep consumers engaged. It’s lead to a slew of spin offs, with tea-flavoured seltzers and lemonade seltzers predicted to be the next big things.

The market in the US is currently dominated by two brands – White Claw and Truly currently account for around 75% of sales.

As Vine Pair notes: “In the 51 weeks ending Dec. 19, 2020, Mark Anthony’s White Claw posted dollar sales of $2 billion while Boston Beer’s Truly hit $956 million, according to Nielsen data. By October, the combined sales of both brands had exceeded the $2.5 billion valuation some market analysts were predicting for the entire hard seltzer category by the end of 2021.”

No wonder everyone wants a slice of that lucrative pie.

Lemonade seltzer boom

A slate of lemonade seltzers are already in market or expected to hit retail shelves in 2021, including Truly Lemonade, Bud Light Hard Seltzer Lemonade, Mike’s Hard Lemonade Seltzer, Vizzy Lemonade and Crook & Marker Spiked Lemonade.

Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade recently launched in the US, with variety packs features four flavours, including Original Lemonade, Black Cherry Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade and Peach Lemonade. They’re brewed with natural fruit flavours and come in at 100 calories with less than 1 gram of sugar and 5% ABV.

“After launching Bud Light Seltzer last year, it quickly became one of the top innovations in the entire category and in the history of the brand. We are excited to continue expanding our portfolio with the new Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade variety pack,” said Andy Goeler, Vice President of Marketing, Bud Light. “Our Seltzer Lemonade marries the bold flavours of lemonade with the refreshing bubbliness of seltzer; this new offering is perfect for both established fans and those who are looking to give it a try.” 

Molson Coors is launching into the lemonade seltzer category in April with Vizzy. It plans to launch Vizzy Lemonade in four flavours in April. It also contains antioxidant vitamin C – the only lemonade brand that can make the claim.

The gluten-free line will be sold in variety 12-packs featuring four flavors: Strawberry Lemonade, Peach Lemonade, Watermelon Lemonade and Raspberry Lemonade. Each 12-ounce can contains 100 calories and checks in at 5% alcohol by volume.

World-first hard seltzer tea

Truly has announced the launch of Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer, a first-of-its-kind mix of seltzer, brewed tea and fruit flavour.

The Truly variety pack offers four styles – Lemon, Raspberry, Peach and Strawberry – each flavour has a hint of fruit, only 1 gram of sugar, 100 calories and 5% ALC/VOL.

“With each innovation, we’re pushing the boundaries of what drinkers expect from hard seltzer,” said Casey O’Neill, Senior Product Development Manager at The Boston Beer Company. “We spent eight months testing more than 250 iterations to land on the Truly Iced Tea launching today and can’t wait to finally share it with our drinkers.”

Craft seltzers on tap

As Drinks Digest noted last week, seltzer was almost exclusively an off-premise beverage until recently, but its growing popularity means you can expect it to come of age in 2021 and enter the bar scene.

Pubs and and bars will start to add seltzers to their beer lists and explore draft options. In the US, Truly began trialling draft seltzer in August 2019 and is expected to expand its reach.

It’s also a space where craft brewers can shine. If they use real fruit in their brands, tap lines offer the perfect way for their vivid hues to stand out and captivate the Insta crowd.