What is the top selling craft style. IPA’s of course.
So you would think the major brewers might consider rolling out some new brands with a few more IBUs, right?
Nope.
Instead, MillerCoors is fueling its innovation pipeline with coconuts, apples and more “sweetness.”
The offerings, which are rolling out this summer, are: Coco Breve, a coconut water-infused clear malt beverage targeting women; Redd’s Apple Ale, an apple-flavored beer that’s already sold oversees; and Third Shift, a lager that marks the start of a series of small batch brewer creations that MillerCoors plans to start testing in the mass market.
The brands, which will initially debut regionally, come as MillerCoors and other big brewers search for new products to compete with smaller craft brewers and liquor marketers, which have stolen share from beer thanks in part to new flavorful innovations and newly aggressive advertising.
The goal is to “win over millennial consumers, who constantly change their drinking habits in search of variety — unlike previous generations that were more loyal to certain styles or brands,” according an an article in AdAge.
Coco Breve will hit stores in selected markets beginning June 1. The beverage will comes in kiwi lime and mango citrus favors.
Redd’s Apple Ale is an apple-flavored ale MillerCoors is positioning to compete with flavored malt beverages such as Mike’s Hard and Twisted Tea. SABMiller already sells the brand overseas in markets such as Poland, Russia, Columbia and South Africa, where flavors are tweaked based on local preferences. The U.S. version is sweet with and abv of5%.
Third Shift is formally called “Third Shift Band of Brewers,” which is described as having a “sweet maltiness that dominates slightly over a clean, hop bitterness.”