2023 in Review: Packaged Beverage Offerings Offer More

There was more of everything in the world of packaged beverages in 2023.

Manufacturers seemed to embrace more energy drinks, more types of water, more flavors and more.

Click through to read the 2023 roundup …

One of the biggest packaged-beverage trends in alcohol today is established, traditional beer brands increasingly embracing limited-time offers (LTOs), said Rob Augustine, the director of sales and merchandising at Lockport, New York-based Crosby’s Stores.

“Right now up in our area we have Labatt, which is a big brand for us, and they have a grapefruit,” he said. “They have an apple. Busch Light has peach, which has been selling well. Last year Busch Light had apple.”

“It’s really surprising. Especially when Busch Light was teasing that their peach was coming out, people were contacting us to see when we’re going to have it in the store,” he said.

This surge isn’t limited to alcohol. At Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, the company continued rollouts in its Coca-Cola Creations line of LTOs. One product, which the company described as the line’s “boldest and edgiest ... flavor yet,” is Coca-Cola Move, a collaboration with flamenco-music artist and Grammy-award winner Rosalía. The drink, Coca-Cola Co. said, “brings to life the transformational power of music.”

Montreal-based Seagram’s Escapes’ limited-edition Pop & Watch variety pack features new seasonal flavors of Blackberry Pear, Apple Melon, Raspberry Lime and Cranberry Orange in 4-packs of 11.2-ounce bottles. The other debut is a Seagram’s Escapes Berry Mimosa, a modern, cocktail-inspired flavor in 4-packs of 11.2-ounce bottles.

The flavor parade grew in 2023, with a seemingly endless array of offerings.

Rockstar, for example, is rolling out three new flavors in its Rockstar Focus line: White Peach, Lemon Lime, and Orange Pineapple. Rockstar is owned by Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo

Happy Thursday, from Molson Coors Beverage Co., Chicago, is launching the Happy Thursday spiked refresher line, whose flavors include Strawberry, Pineapple, Starfruit, Black Cherry and Mango Passionfruit. The line is inspired by younger consumers’ desire for beverages with no carbonation.

Elsewhere, Bambucha Kombucha, Vista, California, introduced a hard kombucha flavor in Raspberry Crush, along with a hard kombucha variety pack that includes Tropical Guava, Blueberry Vanilla and Hawaiian Hibiscus. Raspberry Crush offers crushed ripe organic raspberries paired with an infusion of lemongrass and splash of tart, cold-pressed lime juice. Hard kombucha is 6% ABV, 140 calories and has 5 grams of sugar.

A Vizzy Orange Cream Pop hard seltzer is from a partnership between Molson Coors and alcohol ice-cream maker Hardscoop, Charleston, South Carolina. The beverage delivers an orange cream pop flavor in a new way, the supplier said.

Ready-to drink (RTD) cocktails are “the hottest thing going, and it’s really been developing and launching over the last two, three years,” said Scott Moore, senior vice president, national accounts, off premise, for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, Miami.

What’s going on, Moore said, “is flavor, low-alcohol, a great-tasting cocktail that meets almost every shopper need and suits every taste.”

Little Chute, Wisconsin-based Trilliant Beverages, for example, is bringing its cobranded and licensed lines of 13.7-ounce resealable bottles of RTD coffees to convenience stores through the Consolidated Sales Network. Victor Allen Iced Coffee Lattes are available in Snickers and Twix flavors. Coming soon are Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Breyer’s and more.

Moore said RTDs are made from wine, spirits or a malt base, and have a wide-ranging appeal because they come in so many variations: fruit, soda and more.

There is a blurring and fragmenting of RTD segment offerings. The current trend of RTDs started with hard seltzers, such as White Claw, Chicago, and Truly, Cincinnati, but branched off into a spirit-based cocktail or a wine cocktail like a sangria.

Some of the popular brands are High Noon, Modesto, California, Long Drink from Finland, multiple flavors from Norwalk, Connecticut-based Crown Royal, and the wine-based BuzzBallz, Carrollton, Texas, the largest-selling RTD in convenience, Moore said. There’s also Apopka, Florida-based Simply Lemonade and Hard Mtn Dew, owned by Purchase, New York-based PepsiCo.

Finally, Canton, Massachusetts-based Dunkin’, in partnership with Coca-Cola, in late winter released a lineup of RTD canned iced coffees. Billed as the Dunkin’ Iced Coffee Bakery Series, the offerings are Brownie Batter Donut, Cake Batter Donut and Coffee Cake Muffin. The flavors, which are best served chilled and come in 11-ounce cans, combine Dunkin’s iced coffee with real milk and cane sugar.

Water isn’t sitting still. Clearly Canadian, Toronto, for example, is out to lure new customers from the soda segment with new flavors and a line of four zero-sugar flavored sparkling waters: Forest Blackberry, Fresh Cherry, Tropical Splash and Citrus Medley. Elsewhere, Summer Strawberry, the line’s newest flavor addition, is a taste crowd sourced from Clearly Canadian fans.

Vitaminwater, from The Coca-Cola Co., in 2023 added to its zero-sugar lineup the flavors with love and forever you. It also reformulated all six zero-sugar flavors. With love is infused with raspberry and dark chocolate, while forever you contains tropical coconut lime flavors with white curcumin and more.

Finally, Karma Energy Water comes in five natural flavors: Raspberry Peach, Melon Dragonfruit, Blueberry Watermelon, Orange Mango and Pineapple Coconut. The variety is naturally sweetened, vegan, non-GMO and free of preservatives, gluten and lactose. The beverage, from Pittsford, New York-based Karma Water, is crafted in collaboration with Kyowa USA, New York.

There’s been a lot of energy behind energy in 2023, and its strength seems to be only growing.

For example, the aforementioned Karma Energy Water straddles both the water-flavor trend and the energy trend in blending 150 milligrams of natural caffeine with Kyowa’s clinically studied brain health ingredient Cognizin Citicoline. Karma Water is naturally sweetened, vegan, non-GMO and free of preservatives, gluten and lactose.

Marketing is also becoming more focused, with “total body fuel” from Los Angeles-based Reign Energy, “feel-good energy” from Henderson, Nevada-based Ghost Energy and “all-natural hydration with sparkling effervescence” from True North Seltzer, owned by Monster Beverage Co., Corona, California.

Elsewhere, in early 2023 Monster Energy Zero Sugar debuted. The company said it’s a direct response to overriding user consensus wanting a zero-sugar energy option.

Finally, Celsius’ entry into the performance-energy segment is the Live Fit line, out in January 2024. In a first for the company, it features 16-ounce cans. The six flavors, all sparkling, are Cherry Lime, Blue Raspberry, Fruit Burst, Mango Tango, Orangesicle and Strawberry Dragonfruit. Each can contains 270 milligrams of caffeine, no sugar, a MetaPlus blend and extra amino acids. Celsius is based in Boca Raton, Florida.

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