Anheuser-Busch is stepping up production of its latest hard-hitting Seltzer offering after the liquor, developed with rapper Travis Scott, had a furious demand, CEO Michel Doukeris told CNBC on Wednesday.
The drink – called Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer – was launched earlier this week. The official website said the product was sold out online from Wednesday night and instructed visitors to search for stores that carry it.
In an interview on ‘Closing Bell’, Doukeris said that physical retailers also report strong sales. “Several of them say they’ve never seen anything like it: sold out in one day,” Doukeris said. “We are now increasing production and delivery because we sold out completely yesterday.”
Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer now comes in three flavors – pineapple, lime and strawberry – and has 7% alcohol by volume. Anheuser-Busch, a subsidiary of AB InBev in Belgium, said in a press release that the hard seltzer was manufactured with ‘100% premium blue agave from Mexico’.
Source: PRNewsphoto / Cacti
Travis Scott, an eight-time Grammy nominee, has boosted other companies he has worked 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 were temporarily sold out on some of the required ingredients.
McDonald’s later reported strong growth in the same store in the quarter that includes the Scott promotion.
Doukeris said Anheuser-Busch worked closely with Scott, who uses the nickname “Cactus Jack” to create the hard seltzer. “He was very practical about developing the product itself: the fragrances, the logo,” Doukeris said, adding that Scott was promoting the commercial on Cacti that aired during the Grammy Awards Sunday.
Cacti is not Anheuser-Busch’s first foray into hard seltzer, which has seen explosive growth in recent years. The company also introduced Bud Light Seltzer and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. Cacti are the “last one to come in our innovation pipeline,” Doukeris said.
The competition in the category also intensified after the success of early players such as White Claw and Boston Beer Company’s Truly in 2019. Molson Coors now has several proprietary offerings, including Coors Seltzer, and last year he reached a distribution deal. with Coca-Cola for its Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
According to Doukeris, the presence of several hard-hitting Seltzer brands is welcome, adding that the strength of liquor in general has even helped beer sales after years of decline. “We’re seen over the last 12, 14 months that the beer industry in general is growing, driven by seltzers, but because seltzers are in the same hallway and the same shops as beer, people are going to beer again,” he said. .