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Anheuser-Busch adds hard soda to its portfolio

Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch is launching four flavors of hard soda into its permanent portfolio: Classic Cola, Cherry Cola, Orange Soda and Citrus Soda. These four flavors will be available in 12-ounce cans beginning on January 3, and will have 100 calories and 5% ABV.

In addition to these permanent additions to the portfolio, Bud Light will also launch a limited-time sour seltzer line that will also have four flavors. With Blue Raspberry, Watermelon, Lemon and Green Apple, these offerings came onto shelves in late December and will expand the company’s portfolio further into the hard seltzer category.

Bud Light was a late entrant into the hard seltzer space when it debuted its Bud Light Seltzer in 2020. However, over the past two years, the brand has rapidly grabbed market share, and now accounts for 10% of U.S. hard seltzer sales, CNBC reported. Not only was its original hard seltzer a hit, but its 2021 seasonal summer release accounted for 3.5% of the category market share by itself.

With such success in creating spinoff lines from its portfolio, the beer brand has taken yet another step further into the seltzer space where it is further blurring the lines that have traditionally separated alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage purveyors.

Obfuscating the clear distinction between nonalcoholic and alcoholic has helped brands gain recognition with consumers that are searching for RTD beverages that contain lighter alcohol contents and fun flavors. Hard seltzer and hard sodas hit that sweet spot. Consumption of hard seltzer surged 130% in 2020, according to IWSR.

While there is a market to cater to, straddling the line and dipping its toes into soda puts Anheuser-Busch in competition with other beverage giants like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Not only are these companies that traditionally sell soda going to have a larger market share in that category than newer entrants like Bud Light, but the likes of Coca-Cola are also taking steps to move into the alcohol category. In 2020, Coca-Cola and Molson Coors partnered to create topo Chico Hard Seltzer, which has been extremely popular and will roll out across the U.S. in 2022.