White Claw reigns supreme in seltzer's global picture

The UK's The Spirits Business has named White Claw Hard Seltzer as its Supreme Brand Champion in its annual report published Wednesday. White Claw was also recognised as the Ready To Drink (RTD) Brand Champion in the report and The Spirits Business Hard Seltzer Master Medals were awarded to White Claw for its Mango, Black Cherry, Natural Lime & Raspberry flavours.

There were 102 entries from 39 Hard Seltzer producers in the competition.

Anubha Sahasrabuddhe, Lion Consumer and Brand Director said, “Consumer demand and local love for the brand told us White Claw was a stand out for quality and taste. To now have the accolades and industry recognition to support this, is something we are very proud of, both here in Australia and abroad.”  

The Supreme Brand Champions Award seeks to recognise brands that have found fresh and inventive ways to grow their market volume share. Since its launch in the US in 2016, White Claw has seen success in growing success in Australia, Canada, the UK, Ireland and The Netherlands; with a number of European market launches announced ahead of summer 2021. 

Davin Nugent, CEO of Dublin based Mark Anthony Brands International that created White Claw said, “These awards are a major milestone in the White Claw journey. It is great to have the industry recognise White Claw’s superior taste, quality and customer experience. These globally recognised awards are a high point as Mark Anthony Brands International continues its growth globally. It is also important to recognise the crucial role of our distribution partners and more importantly, our customers who have helped White Claw become such a global phenomenon.”

The Spirits Business Hard Seltzer Master Medal rewards the finest Hard Seltzers globally. This is chaired by the Spirits Business publication and assessed by a panel of leading spirits specialists who assess each category against a stringent set of criteria.

White Claw has become a cultural phenomenon exceeding all expectations with fans generating over 4 billion impressions and 46 times more social media mentions than competing brands in the USA.  The iconic, global brand has proved to be America’s most successful new alcohol product in a generation. In 2020, White Claw contributed over $1 billion in growth to the US hard seltzer segment, which was more than the next two largest beverage growth brands combined.

Having made waves Stateside, White Claw is now gaining popularity in Australia, seeing unprecedented demand with the launch of Mango, Natural Lime and Grapefruit in October 2020. Following the successful launch in Australia, White Claw released Black Cherry. The number one requested flavour was launched as a limited-edition offer, quickly becoming the number one sold hard seltzer in leading retailers proving the American cult favourite is also a favourite down-under. 

SOURCE: IRI Aus Wtd and Scan Feb-21 MAT, US IWSR MULC+Liquor Jan 2021, IRI US MULC+Liquor 52 weeks to end March 2021