​​How do Bud Light seltzers compete in the ever-growing market of hard seltzers

 

 Since the release of White Claw in 2016, hard seltzers have proven to be a popular alternative to other alcoholic beverages like beers or ciders. The growth of this industry was so rapid that in 2020 the hard seltzer market was valued at over $1.8 billion, and is projected to reach $2.43 billion by 2021. As a result, the company Anheuser-Busch, owner of Bud Light, decided to implement a new product in an attempt to enter this market. The launch of Bud light seltzers featured four distinct flavors with strawberry, lemon-lime, cherry, and mango, where each can contains 5% alcohol, 100 calories, 2g of carbs, and less than 1g of sugar. The value proposition of Bud Light seltzer can be seen with their plans to implement seasonal flavors to their pre-existing line of seltzers. These flavors include Pumpkin spice, Toasted marshmallow, maple pear, and apple crisp and are a part of bud light's new "Fall flannel Variety Packs".

I personally have not tried Bud Light Seltzers myself however reviews from people online seem to be fairly positive. Olivia Harrison made a blog post on refinery29.com saying she was overall impressed with the taste and "buzz" she got from drinking the seltzer. However, she felt as though they could've developed more innovative flavors like lime and black cherry are two flavors that are almost consistent in every other hard seltzer. On the other hand, a post was made on Beervanablog.com claiming that "bud light seltzer makes no sense". They claim "Budweiser is a beer. Light is an adjective describing what kind of beer. Seltzer is … not beer". Seemingly this blog wasn't the only place this opinion was held which led to the release of a new advertisement. This ad resulted in a humorous advertisement that explicitly addressed the misconception. Furthermore, consumers often share their views regarding the beverage on Twitter, as this is the brand’s main social media platform. The comments I combed through were fairly positive and even had users tagging their friends. 

This implementation by Anheuser-Busch relates to marketing as they're attempting to evolve the company and its image by entering a new and quickly growing market. Some challenges they may face could include a low-value proposition. Since the market is already big and will undoubtedly continue growing, it's possible that they could face challenges from competitors. If I were the brand manager of bud light during the time where the misconception that bud light seltzers contain beer (not seltzer) some steps I would take may include, the smaller font on the bud light branding (on the can), more of a distinction between beer and seltzers (maybe tall thin cans for seltzers and short wide cans for beer?), and to shy away from colors used on beer cans. Throughout this analysis, I learned how not only navigating through new markets but implementing products in those markets takes a lot of development and research to ensure what’s being put on the market will appeal to consumers. 

Link to “Bud Light Seltzer” advertisement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOzJMi-ymY 

Sources: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/02/9330464/bud-light-hard-seltzer-review 

https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2020/1/10/minor-complaint-bud-light-seltzer 

https://www.budlight.com/en/our-seltzers/bud-light-seltzer.html