The thundering success of alcoholic water, "drink of 2019"

A new beverage has made a notable appearance in the US market and is now exported to the UK.

Posted yesterday at 18h07, updated at 06h33 Time to Reading 2 min.

De sparkling alcoholic water. It is "The drink of 2019", according to the American daily Washington Post. A drink sold in can, slightly gasified, and sometimes scented with the aroma of fruits. Alcohol, between 4% and 6%, can come from fermented sugar or malt, says the British website iNews, and offer "A subtle taste, and the same kind of experience as a vodka mixed with a soda, with a big zest of lemon".

If the drink was introduced to the market in 2013, according to the magazine Real Simple, it has met with a huge success in the United States, especially in recent months, under the brands White Claw (which represents 54% of the market), Truly, Bon & Viv or Pura. Its fresh and harmless appearance seduces those who want to eat healthy and low calorie while having drunkenness. In 2018, sales increased by approximately 169% over the previous year, reaching almost $ 487.8 million (443 million euros), according to a January report from the Nielsen Group. The market could even reach $ 2.5 billion by 2021, say UBS analysts. Is "An annual growth of 66% and a jump of 14 million packs to 72 million in 2021".

The United Kingdom, new market

The drink is so popular that it is now subject to misappropriation on the Internet ("memes"), including Instagram. American comedian Trevor Wallace, known for his zany videos on Facebook, has accumulated this summer more than 150 000 views and 300 000 comments with a parody video on "Guys who drink White Claw", inspiring, according to the Washington Post, a "Rallying cry at summer barbecues:" It's not law when you're drinkin 'Claws, baby "" ("There's no law when you drink Claw, baby").

With its success in the US market, the drink is now exported to the UK, reports the British magazine The Grocer, where the can sells 1.70 pounds (1.87 euros). "The fact that it is considered more upscale than other malt liquor products helps sell it as an ambitious product", says the magazine Eater.

Many major beer brands already have this kind of beverage, such as MillerCoors, Sam Adams, or Mark Anthony Co, and others are positioning themselves on the market: Corona has announced that its brand of alcoholic water Refresca would be marketed in may.

The success of this type of drink is not new, and is in line with other low-alcohol sweet drinks. The difference, this time, is that it succeeds to please both men and women thanks to an unmarked packaging, to believe Eater. "Everyone can enjoy the sparkling and intoxicating joy of White Claw, ensures the site, while in the 1990s, almost all malted beverages that were not brewed from barley and hops were "rotten beer". "