Anheuser-Busch is ramping up production of its latest offering of hard seltzer after the drink, developed alongside rapper Travis Scott, had furious demand, CEO Michel Doukeris told CNBC on Wednesday.
The drink – called Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer – was launched earlier this week. Its official website reported that the product was sold out online, on Wednesday night, and directed visitors to look for stores that sold it.
In an interview with “Closing Bell”, Doukeris said that physical retailers are also reporting strong sales. “Several of them are saying that they have never seen anything like it before: exhausted in one day,” said Doukeris. “We are now increasing production and delivery because we sold completely yesterday.”
Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer now comes in three flavors – pineapple, lemon and strawberry – and has 7% alcohol by volume. Anheuser-Busch, which is a Belgium-based AB InBev subsidiary, said in a press release that the hard seltzer is made with “100% premium blue agave from Mexico”.
Source: PRNewsphoto / Cacti
Travis Scott, eight times a Grammy nominee, has boosted other companies he has collaborated with before. In September, after McDonald’s partnered with Scott to offer his favorite meal for a limited time, the company reported that some of its stores temporarily sold out some of the necessary ingredients.
Subsequently, McDonald’s reported strong growth in same-store sales in the quarter, covering the Scott promotion.
Doukeris said that Anheuser-Busch worked closely with Scott, who uses the nickname “Cactus Jack”, to create the hard seltzer. “He was super active in developing the product itself: the flavors, the logo,” said Doukeris, adding that Scott directed the commercial promoting Cacti that aired during the Grammy show on Sunday.
Cacti are not Anheuser-Busch’s first foray into hard seltzer, which has seen explosive growth in recent years. The company also launched Bud Light Seltzer and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. Cacti is “the last to arrive on our innovation channel,” said Doukeris.
Competition in the category also heated up, following the success of early players such as White Claw and Boston Beer Company Truly in 2019. Molson Coors now has several offers of its own, including Coors Seltzer, and last year closed a distribution agreement with Coca -Stick by its Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
Doukeris said the presence of several brands of caustic soda is welcome, adding that the strength of the drink in general has helped even beer sales after years of decline. “We have seen in the last 12, 14 months, the beer industry in general growing, driven by seltzers, but as seltzers are in the same corridor and in the same stores as beer, people are turning to beer too,” he said. .