Coors Seltzer, we hardly knew ya. Molson Coors will discontinue the line extension in the U.S. less than a year after its debut, in a sign of how tough it is to win in the hotly competitive seltzer market.
Beer Business Daily first reported the move this morning, citing a memo Molson Coors sent to distributors Thursday afternoon explaining the action. The brewer rationalized the move by saying that it would allow more focus on its other seltzers, the newly launched Topo Chico Hard Seltzer (which is part of a partnership with Coca Cola Co.) and Vizzy, which has been in the market since early 2020.
In the memo, Molson Coors Chief Marketing Officer Michelle St Jacques and sales chief Kevin Doyle spun the move as proof that seltzers created as offshoots of traditional beer brands don’t do so well, according to the memo cited by Beer Business Daily. “Overall, seltzers that are line extended off existing beer brands don’t perform as well as others,” they wrote. They backed it up by throwing some shade at some competitors: “The recent struggles of brands like Bud Light Hard Seltzer [down 5.2% vs. YA L4W through 6/27] and Corona Hard Seltzer [down 26.1% vs. YA during the same timeframe], compared to Vizzy, which was up 66% during the same period.”