• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

What are consumers actually looking for in hard seltzer? Taste? CBD? Something else?

September 15, 2021Chris Crowell

hard seltzer

We know that a lot of people are drinking hard seltzers, but do we really know why? Or if it will last? And if it does last — what are the specific reasons customers gravitate toward it? Billion-dollar Boston Beer thought it had the answers and whiffed pretty hard on it, so it’s not just us out here in the wilderness asking these questions to ourselves (but please, stay away if you do see us out there).

Consumer insights platform Veylinx made the latest attempt to figure out hard seltzer’s popularity and where the growth opportunities actually are. They used behavioral research to predict purchasing habits, studied eight hard seltzer brands (AriZona SunRise, Bon V!V, Bud Light, Corona, Smirnoff, Topo Chico, Truly, and White Claw) and then asked about eight added benefits (CBD, high alcohol, low alcohol, sustainable packaging, energy, immunity, vitamins, kombucha) to determine which potential product innovations consumers value most and which will impact their willingness to pay. 

According to findings, nearly all of the added benefits tested drove greater purchase interest from consumers. The study found that adding CBD boosted demand by 12% on average, while enhancing the drinks with kombucha lowered demand by an average of 6%.

Other variations, such as sustainable packaging, showed potential for some brands, but not others. Sustainable packaging for Corona boosted its demand by 29%, but shrunk demand for Truly by 23%. 

The study also confirmed that White Claw leads the crowded category in overall willingness to pay, with 35% higher average demand than its competitors. Corona and Truly scored second and third, respectively—but trailed the market leader by a wide margin. 

“We wanted to study the hard seltzer category because it has disrupted the alcoholic beverage space so profoundly in such a short time,” said Anouar El Haji, CEO of Veylinx. “There are widely divergent predictions about if and how it will sustain its tremendous growth, so we wanted to shed light on which brands and innovations are best positioned for the future.” 

Unlike typical surveys where consumers are simply asked about their preferences, Veylinx uses behavioral research to reveal how much consumers will pay for a product through an actual bidding system. Consumers reveal their true willingness to pay by placing sealed bids on products and then answering follow-up questions about their reasons to buy or not to buy. The study was conducted in July and August 2021 among 2,702 U.S. consumers over the age of 21.

The findings showed that all eight brands enjoy a positive product perception across multiple dimensions, including credibility, premiumness, and uniqueness, signaling strong potential for additional growth.

White Claw drives the greatest demand, but benefits the least from adding product extensions

hard seltzer survey

CBD-infused, energy-boosting, and high-alcohol versions performed well across most brands, and while market leader White Claw commanded the highest demand score, potential product line extensions actually drove less demand for the brand. Every other brand tested had at least one added benefit that lifted demand. For Topo Chico, five of the eight added benefits drove higher demand—including CBD, which provided an 18% lift. 

Consumers drink hard seltzer for its refreshing taste, not because it’s healthier

“Refreshing taste” was listed by a majority of respondents (54%) as a primary purchase driver, with Truly, White Claw and Bud Light scoring highest in this category. Somewhat surprisingly, the perceived healthfulness of seltzers compared to other alcoholic beverages was not an important demand driver (only selected by 22% of participants).

Nearly 75% of respondents indicated that they consume hard seltzer at home. 

Regional preferences vary.

Consumer demand for individual brands differed across regions, with White Claw dominating the Northeast and Midwest. In the South, Smirnoff elicited the highest demand, while Corona took the crown in the West.

The CBD-infused product variation drove the greatest purchase interest in the Northeast, South, and Midwest. The most popular product variation in the West proved to be sustainable packaging.

 

Hells-Seltzer-Cans_low-1
Ready-to-drink beverage alcohol is primed to be the ‘next big thing,’ and hard seltzers could be a part of it
How to brand your hard seltzer, navigating from brewery to beverage company
White Claw
Hard seltzer consumption forecasted to triple by 2023, half of U.S. alcohol consumers drink it at least once a week says new survey
White Claw
Did you know White Claw’s hard seltzers alone are outpacing sales of all craft beer?

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. CANTEEN Spirits Rises in Ready-to-Drink Cocktail Market - Seltzer Nation says:
    July 6, 2022 at 10:09 am

    […] consumers choose their alcoholic beverages due to the quality of the flavor. A study done by Veylinx last year revealed that taste was everything to alcohol beverage consumers. The majority of all […]

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Blue Moon plans limited run under its original name, Bellyslide Wit, coinciding with baseball season
  • Craft sales continue to struggle in 2023, NBWA March Beer Purchasers’ Index confirms
  • Sockeye Brewing’s new Alehouse has one of Boise’s largest outdoor patios + a 9-hole putting course
  • Distribution update: pFriem Family Brewers goes to LA + news from Wiseacre, Anderson Valley, FÜL and more

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Craft sales continue to struggle in 2023, NBWA March Beer Purchasers’ Index confirms
    March 30, 2023
  • Distribution update: pFriem Family Brewers goes to LA + news from Wiseacre, Anderson Valley, FÜL and more
    March 29, 2023
  • Watch how White Labs’ WLP077 Tropicale yeast intensifies fruity flavors in hop compounds
    March 29, 2023
  • Boston’s Dorchester Brewing and Yakima Chief Hops team up to offer contract breweries discounts on hops
    March 28, 2023
  • 10 craft beer variety packs that have us excited to try new beer
    March 27, 2023
  • Take a look at Jack’s Abby’s renovated Beer Hall and its sweet new Tradition Meets Tech pilot system
    March 27, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC