All corn-troversy with MillerCoors from the Super Bowl aside, Budweiser is working up a new flavor of Bud Light. Bud Light Lemon Tea is poised to grab consumer sales this year.
AB InBev sales have declined in the United States. Shipments of Bud Light have dropped every year for nearly a decade now, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights. Despite Bud Light’s decline, Budweiser has found great success with Bud Light Lime, and most recently, 2018’s Bud Light Orange. According to AB, Orange was one of the beer industry’s most successful product launches all year.
These “premium” products (that’s an Anheuser-Busch term for these flavored segments) success are opening the door for Bud Light Lemon Tea. The description reads “lager brewed with real lemon peels and aged on tea leaves with natural flavors.” The “real” and “natural” will no doubt play a big role in the deluge of expensive marketing Budweiser will inevitably roll out when this beer launches. Especially after taking shots at MillerCoors use of corn syrup in recent commercial spends.
Both CNBC and AdAge have run stories with Bud Light VP Andy Goeler who explains these Bud Light extensions as a way to get beer drinkers to come back to Bud Light. Not to far off from the craft beer industries #FlagshipFebruary campaign to remind drinkers not to forget about the core beers in their hunt for pastry stouts, one-offs, and quadruple dry-hopped haze. Whether megabrewer, or craft brewer, core beer sales are falling.
If it’s any evidence of the popularity of these flavored brand extensions, 2 of the top 5 searches on Beer Street Journal every month are Zima (MillerCoors) and Bud Light Platinum. Bud Light Orange is #36.
Anheuser-Busch has not officially announced this release.
