Molson Coors Beverage Co. is launching Peace Hard Tea, a beverage inspired by Atlanta-based Coca-Cola’s Peace Tea.
Peace Tea offers a selection of fruity, vibrant flavors, and the non-carbonated, 5% ABV Peace Hard Tea will come in three varieties:
- More Peace More Lemon (lemon tea)
- Freedom of Peach (peach tea)
- Really Really Razzy (raspberry tea)
It hits shelves around Labor Day in the Southeast and will be sold in convenience stores in 24-ounce single cans.
Peace Hard Tea’s fruit-forward flavors creates an opportunity to bring more legal-aged drinkers into the hard tea space, said Amanda Devore, Molson Coors’ marketing director for innovation.
“Peace Hard Tea comes with a distinct point of view, amazing flavors and incredible branding to build something new and exciting in the alcohol aisle,” she said.
Peace Hard Tea is the second entry in Molson Coors’ hard-tea lineup, joining Arnold Palmer Spiked, which between 2019 and 2022 grew 39% in dollar sales and more than 30% in volume, according to Circana (formerly IRI) multi-outlet and convenience store data, Molson Coors said.
“The hard tea category continues to grow double digits year over year, and we think there’s a huge opportunity,” Devore said. “And people love this brand. It has an edge and a really loyal fan base.”
Hard tea has a 26 share of flavored-alcohol beverage sales in c-stores, according to Circana. Both hard tea and flavored alcohol beverages are popular in the Southeast, Devore says, citing Circana data that shows flavored-alcohol beverages up 30% in volume versus last year.
New Arnold Palmer Spiked Flavors
Elsewhere, Chicago-based Molson Coors announced it’s expanding the Arnold Palmer Spiked portfolio with the release of Spiked Raspberry Half & Half this spring. It joins the growing portfolio of Arnold Palmer Spiked brands, including traditional Arnold Palmer Spiked Half & Half and Arnold Palmer Spiked Lite Half & Half.
“The hard tea market is booming, and consumers are looking for fresh innovations from the brands they already know and love,” said Joy Ghosh, vice president, above premium beer and RTD, Molson Coors.
In addition, Molson Coors is adding Simply Spiked Peach to its lineup. The new beverage builds on the success of Simply Spiked Lemonade, which has sold 3.5 million cases since it launched a year ago, the company said.
“Peach is proving to be the hottest flavor of the moment, as supported by a combination of growth potential, consumer appeal and category indicators,” the company said.
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