Canned cocktail seltzers perfect in rain, hail or shine

Fellr is launching a new cocktail seltzer to its range with the canned Passionfruit Martini having dropped in stores alongside its mixed 12 pack.

As the days begin to cool and autumn blows our way, Drinks Trade asked founders Will Morgan and Andy Skora whether the Passionfruit Martini Cocktail Seltzer would sell during the cooler seasons.

They made the important distinction between their hard seltzers and their cocktail seltzers and why the cocktail seltzers work the whole year through.

"Our Cocktail Seltzers target a different drinking occasion than regular Hard Seltzers, that sit around that low-alcohol space of around 4 per cent. While Hard Seltzers great for those sunny afternoons, to kick back and have a drink with friends, our Cocktail Seltzers sit at 6.5 per cent ABV so really target that later evening occasion when people are dialling up their night and getting ready to go out or are out at a party. It’s an easy-to-drink, low calorie alternative to beer, with a stronger kick to it," they said.

Feedback to the Fellr team from the trade told them that was a consumer appetite for higher ABV seltzers and the canned cocktail seltzers were crafted to meet that demand.

The serving suggestion is that the Passionfruit Martini Cocktail Seltzer is a great accompaniment for pre-party preparations, housewarmings or even around the fire pit and expectations are that the product will perform well.

Mr Morgan and Mr Skora introduced the Watermelon Margarita Cocktail Seltzer on-tap at the GABS Craft Beer Festival before canning it for release in October.

"It’s awesome to see what started as an Australia first innovation at GABS Craft Beer Festival, is now canned...We’ve had an awesome response online and it’s been flying off the shelves in-store. We had a soft launch of the product in October, and it’s been hard to keep it on shelves since, though now we’ve moved into much broader ranging with the national retailers with both SKUs, and set up these products in the independent wholesalers, so we’re really excited to see how far the range goes now with a much bigger focus and push," they said. 

The Passionfruit Martini is inspired by inspired the Pornstar Martini, one of the fastest selling cocktails in the on-trade globally.

Since launching from their apartments in 2020, Fellr is now ranged nationally in stores and venues around the country and is the best-selling independent seltzer in ILG.

It is a great success story on-premise as well.

"Our Fellr on-tap program has been flying too! Seltzer on-tap for us has been a core focus for the last year, as we look to dial up our presence in the on-premise, and we’ve been blown away with the response. Fellr Watermelon is regularly becoming the number one tap, outselling beers in large marquee venues such as the Beach Road Hotel, Royal Paddington and The Prince of Merewether in Newcastle.

"We’ve seen almost 400,000 schooners of Fellr sold since we launched our kegs and expect this to continue to grow over the coming year. We’ve also picked up some silverware on the way with Fellr Silver medal at the World Premix Awards for our Watermelon Seltzer," they said.

The release of the Passionfruit Martini coincides with the Fellr Mixed 12 pack which showcases their full ranage with four each of watermelon, passionfruit and dry and lime.

Fellr Passionfruit Martini Cocktail Seltzer is available nationwide at RRP 4 pack of 250ml (6.5% ABV) $23.99.

Fellr 12 Packs is available nationwide through Vintage Cellars as well as selected Dan Murphy’s, BWS, independents in NSW and QLD and BoozeBud online.