Anheuser-Busch is stepping up production of its latest hard seltzer offering after the drink, developed alongside rapper Travis Scott, has seen furious demand, Michel Doukeris told general TV channel Wednesday.
The drink, called Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer, was launched earlier this week. Its official website said the product sold out online from Wednesday evening and directed visitors to look for stores that would carry it.
In an interview with Closing Bell, Doukeris said physical retailers also report strong sales. “Several of them say they’ve never seen anything like it: exhausted in one day,” Doukeris said. “Now we’re increasing production and delivery because yesterday we ran out completely.”
Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer now comes in three flavors (pineapple, lime and strawberry) and has 7% alcohol by volume. Anheuser-Busch, which is a subsidiary of Belgium-based AB InBev, said in a press release that the hard seltzer is made from “100% premium blue agave from Mexico.”
Source: PRNewsphoto / Cactus
Travis Scott, an eight-time Grammy nominee, has given a boost to other companies he has collaborated with before. In September, after McDonald’s partnered with Scott to offer their favorite food for a limited time, the company reported that some of its stores had temporarily exhausted some of the necessary ingredients.
McDonald’s later reported strong sales growth in the same store during the quarter, which included Scott’s promotion.
Doukeris said Anheuser-Busch worked closely with Scott, who uses the nickname “Jack Cactus,” in creating the hard seltzer. “He was very practical in developing the product itself: the flavors, the logo,” Doukeris said, adding that Scott ran Cacti’s promotional commercial that aired during Sunday’s Grammy Awards program.
Cacti is not Anheuser-Busch’s first foray into the hard seltzer, which has had explosive growth in recent years. The company has also launched Bud Light Seltzer and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. Cacti is the “last to reach our innovation pipeline,” Doukeris said.
Competition in the category has also heated up following the success of starting players such as White Claw and Boston Beer Company’s Truly in 2019. Molson Coors now has several of its own offerings, including Coors Seltzer, and last year signed a deal. of distribution with Coca-Cola for its Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
Doukeris said the presence of several brands of hard seltzer is welcome, adding that the strength of beverages in general has even helped sell beer after years of decline. “We’ve been seeing the brewing industry in general for the last 12, 14 months, driven by seltzers, but because seltzers are in the same aisle and in the same stores as beer, people are also coming back to beer,” he said. to say. .