Hard Seltzer, also known as spiked seltzer, is one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage categories in the world. On the back of extraordinary success in the US and Canada, Hard Seltzer is now gaining adoption in other primarily English speaking countries. Hard Seltzer combines seltzer water, alcohol, and usually fruit flavor or cane sugar. While often derided as spiked soda water, it continues to gain rapid adoption. White Claw leads this adoption, consistently owning more than half of the market. Despite White Claw market share leading the pack, the brand has struggled to keep up with demand. Still, hard seltzer market share of the alcohol industry remains negligible. Hard Seltzer typically contains around 5% alcohol content by volume and is lower calorie than most comparable alcoholic drinks. The alcohol usually comes from a neutral spirit or fermented fruit. You can find US Hard Seltzer Market Size, US Hard Seltzer Market Share, and other trends and statistics below. You can learn more about T4's strategy consulting services here.
The chart shows the US Hard Seltzer Market Size from 2016 to 2021. In 2020, the size of the Hard Seltzer Industry was $1.8B and was projected to grow 35% in 2021. From 2016 to 2021, the Hard Seltzer Industry growth is projected to average a whopping 128% per year (CAGR). These estimates were made before the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The short term impact of COVID-19 on the Hard Seltzer market growth will likely be High because hard seltzer is most popular in the summer, and shelter-in-place restrictions may significantly restrict access to sales channels. While this does not mean the hard seltzer market will decline, COVID-19 restrictions may temper the extraordinary growth. The long term impact of COVID-19 on the Hard Seltzer market growth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic will likely be Low because alcoholic beverages are resilient to recession shocks. Request help with obtaining the source for this data and learn more about T4's strategy consulting services here.
The chart shows US Hard Seltzer Market Share in 2019. The Hard Seltzer Market is concentrated among a few brands. The leading brand in the Hard Seltzer Industry was White Claw with 58% US Hard Seltzer market share in 2019, followed by Truly Hard Seltzer with 26% US Hard Seltzer market share, Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer with 6% market share Smirnoff with 4% market share, Henry's with 2% market share, Natural Light Seltzer with 2% share, and a long tail of other brands with 2% share. Despite the growth in the industry, White Claw market share has consistently led the category. Get help with market research for the Hard Seltzer market, including the source for this US Hard Seltzer Market Share chart and learn more about T4's strategy consulting services here.
Hard Seltzer is one of the most disruptive segments to emerge in the alcohol industry in decades. Hard Seltzer sales and craft beer sales have been driving growth in the beer category (many leading research firms classify hard seltzer under beer despite most seltzers not containing malts or being made in a brewery). While Hard Seltzers have been around for centuries, millennial consumers' demands for healthier, lower-calorie alcoholic beverages have helped drive the growth of the segment. Hard Seltzers tend to be lower calorie than beer, wine, and other drinks. Hard Seltzer market share is especially stealing from beer market share as hard seltzers have comparable alcohol content but are often gluten and grain-free. Hard Seltzer market share has room to grow. The alcohol industry is a mature, slow-growing market. Yet for the year preceding Q1 2019, only 4% of US households purchased hard seltzer, and hard seltzer is nearly unheard of abroad. As White Claw shortages in 2019 show, distribution, marketing, and sales channels still have room to mature. The fast pace of growth provides new entrants with deep pockets or exceptional marketing, especially from big beer and spirits companies concerned about losing beer and spirits market share, the opportunity to capture hard seltzer market share. We can expect hard seltzer market share to change significantly as the category continues to grow, but White Claw market share may be difficult to disrupt.
Hard Seltzer is a Developing market composed of a few competitors. White Claw market share was 58% of the Hard Seltzer market in 2019. White Claw Hard Seltzer was launched in 2016 by Mark Anthony Brands, the company that owns the Mike's Hard Lemonade brand. Like many hard seltzers, White Claw consists of seltzer water, grain-free alcohol, and fruit flavor. White Claw's popularity has increased so much that in 2019, Mark Anthony brands had to limit distributor allocations due to a nationwide shortage. Despite this, White Claw market share grew in 2019. Truly market share was 26% of the US Hard Seltzer market in 2019. The Truly Hard Seltzer brand launched in 2016 under the brand name Truly Spiked and Sparkling. It is owned by Boston Beer Company, the owner of Sam Adams. While Truly market share has decreased, the hard seltzer market is growing so fast that Truly's sales are rapidly increasing. Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer market share was 6% of the Hard Seltzer market in 2019. Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer debuted as SpikedSeltzer, Boathouse Beverage's hard seltzer brand, in 2013. In 2016, Anheuser Busch purchased Boathouse Beverage and acquired its hard seltzer market share rather than start from scratch with its brand. Anheuser Busch renamed the hard seltzer to Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer and used the Super Bowl to advertise the new brand, thereby quickly gaining hard seltzer market share.
T4's research team can help you learn more about the US and global Hard Seltzer industry with market analysis, competitive analysis, commercial Due Diligence, and other market research needs. This includes a more in-depth analysis of competitors in the Hard Seltzer market, including hard seltzer brands such as White Claw, Truly, High Noon, Natural Light Hard Seltzer, Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzer, Henry's Hard Sparkling Water, Four Loko, and many others. T4 also researches related topics such as Alcohol, Spirits, Wine, Retail, Grocery, Soft Drink, Sports Drink, Food & Beverage, Beer, Craft Beer, and Malt Beverages, as well as sector research in the Consumer Sector and other Sectors. Learn more about T4's strategy consulting services here.
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