Carlton & United Breweries has announced a new flavour option for its Hard Rated brand. The new flavour, Alcoholic Lemon Lime Zero Sugar, will complement the existing Hard Rated Alcoholic Lemon and Hard Rated Alcoholic Lemon Zero Sugar and is described as having sweet lime notes balanced by the bitterness of the alcohol.
According to Sarah Wilcox, Head of RTDs & Cider at Carlton & United Breweries, the new product has been launched in response to consumer demand.
“Our customers told us they wanted more Hard Rated innovation and we’ve responded,” she said.
“Hard Rated had proven a great success and shown that adults wanted a refreshing lemon-flavoured alcoholic drink.”
The new flavour option will be made available nationwide in 4-packs and cases of 24. The release follows on from the ongoing success of the Hard Rated brand, which was recently named in a report composed by Circana in partnership with Drinks Trade as the brand that brought in the most cumulative revenue to Australia’s drinks industry throughout 2023, generating $157 million in Australia’s liquor sector despite only launching to market in the second half of last year.
According to Circana, Hard Rated – now the leading white spirit premix in the country – has achieved its success by “leveraging a great tasting lemon liquid has seen Hard Rated transcend category, gender and generational divides… “lemon is the most popular light RTD flavour, having grown its share to more than 30% this year.”
Sarah Wilcox added, “leveraging a great tasting lemon liquid has seen Hard Rated transcend category, gender and generational divides, appealing to women in their 20s at the same rate as Gen X men and regular beer drinkers.
“With RTDs increasingly popular among alcohol consumers, we hope Hard Rated’s Lemon Lime Zero Sugar helps continue this trend.”
Hard Rated Lemon Lime Zero Sugar will be made available in 375ml cans with a 4.5% abv and will cost $24 per 4-pack.
