The summer of hard seltzer approaches. Again.
Since the dawn of White Claw and Truly in 2016, every summer has been bubblier than the last for the ever-growing hard seltzer market: bursting sales — shoppers spent more than $600 million on just those two brands last year — and a new hit entry or two. This summer, that new hit entry appears to be Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
Topo Chico Hard Seltzer has been “off like a rocket ship” since its limited rollout in nine states and seven metro areas (including Chicago) in late March, beer industry newsletter Beer Business Daily reported last week.
Sold in the archetypical hard seltzer format — a mixed 12-pack of four flavors — Topo Chico Hard Seltzer grabbed close to a whopping 20% of the Texas hard seltzer market shortly after its release and, despite the limited footprint, 3.2% of the national hard seltzer market, Beer Business Daily reported. Texas is the unofficial U.S. home base for the brand.
There’s also promising news in Chicago: Topo Chico has already become the city’s third best-selling brand on alcohol delivery website Drizly, and a spokesperson for the Binny’s Beverage Depot chain said Topo Chico sales “have been strong, and it shows that folks are excited for fresh, new varieties.”
Molson Coors, which makes, markets and distributes the hard seltzer for Topo Chico owner Coca-Cola (which bought the brand in 2017 when it was merely a well-loved, nonalcoholic seltzer), has already promised to boost production ahead of looming “out-of-stocks,” as a product shortfall is called in the industry. Molson Coors spokesman Marty Maloney told Beer Business Daily that “demand has blown away anyone’s wildest expectations.”
So, yes: the summer of 2021 is shaping up to be a good one for Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
But is Topo Chico Hard Seltzer worth all that frenzy and fuss? Can the excitement last? Should it?
I’m hard-pressed ever to rave about hard seltzer, especially when the best ones can be made at home: the nonalcoholic seltzer of your choice with a shot of vodka, gin or tequila (I usually like gin or tequila for an extra flavor dimension) and a generous squeeze of lemon or lime. Voila. Fresh and easy hard seltzer without the weird and wonky flavors that doom so many of those on shelves.
While Topo Chico Hard Seltzer isn’t quite rave-worthy, it does have plenty going for it that makes me think it’s here to stay.
First is the brand itself. As a drinking experience, hard seltzer is fairly soulless and boring. As a lifestyle experience is where it really resonates, and that makes the brand paramount. As a brand, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is one of the best.
Topo Chico has a built-in advantage with years of fandom behind it as a nonalcoholic seltzer water; its roots stretch to Mexico in the late 1800s. In recent years, it has become popular with a hip and discerning crowd of U.S. drinkers, especially in Texas, where the simple Ranch Water cocktail was pioneered: Topo Chico, tequila and lime.
Coca-Cola bought a very successful and attractive brand in Topo Chico, and it’s no wonder that one of the company’s vice presidents of marketing promised to “protect the prestige of the brand” when expanding Topo Chico’s reach in 2019.
The name itself is strong — it’s fun to say, rolling around in the mouth, then sliding right out — and so is the logo, a neat, retro cursive font wisely left alone for the hard seltzer. The rest of the hard seltzer’s slim 12-ounce can follows the logo’s lead, with a couple of stripes of color and simple, elegant fonts that embrace the brand’s Mexican roots and longtime popularity in Texas. It’s a better-looking can and brand than many of its competitors, and in the realm of hard seltzer, that matters.
As far as what’s in the can, quality hard seltzer is fundamentally a question of flavor. The bubbles and the alcohol are easy. Flavor is the hard part. And like every other hard seltzer brand before it, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is a mixed proposition.
The first one I tried from the 12-pack was Tangy Lemon Lime, and it was my least favorite, in part because it would be the easiest to improve upon at home (see the recipe above). It smelled and tasted of false flavor with nothing crisp, clean or particularly citrusy about it. Things improved significantly from there, though.
Tropical Mango was too tropical — that is, too robust — for my liking, lingering on the palate when it would have done well to dissipate more quickly. But the fruit flavor came across relatively authentic, which is more than many competing brands can claim. It would probably work well as a cocktail mixer.
The two winners I would gladly return to: Strawberry Guava and Exotic Pineapple.
Strawberry Guava comes across with authentic-enough strawberry flavor, even if it has a touch of strawberry Jolly Rancher in the aroma. It’s bright and refreshing and not too sweet. There’s even a bit of an earthiness to it, which may be the guava at work. It’s dry, clean and hardly overwhelming in its fruitiness. It goes down remarkably easy — which is the point of hard seltzer.
Better still is Exotic Pineapple. I’m not sure what’s exotic about it, but the pineapple component sure works. It’s ripe and juicy without falling into overbearing sweetness. A burst of fruitiness is chased by a dry and refreshing finish. It’s as good a canned hard seltzer as I’ve had.
So, yes, there’s merit in Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, even if its future as a blistering-hot product is hardly guaranteed.
On Monday, Coca-Cola chairman and CEO James Quincey said the company is “encouraged by the early results” of Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, but acknowledged success ultimately comes down to customers buying those 12-packs more than once, rather than simply out of the curiosity that drives most first-time purchases.
Alcoholic brands debut with scorching starts all the time and often quickly recede. Bud Light Seltzer, for instance, got a burst of interest when released in early 2020. Beer Business Daily quoted Anheuser-Busch distributors at the time as saying Bud Light Seltzer’s early sales were “incredible,” “exceptional” and “(expletive) killing it.”
Bud Light Seltzer is no longer “killing it.” Through late March, year-to-date sales were down 15% from a year ago, according to market research firm IRI. The four-week period ending March 21 was even worse compared to the same period a year ago, down 39%.
Topo Chico Hard Seltzer is certainly better than Bud Light Seltzer. And it will probably fare better in the long run.
But while decent stuff — I’d be glad to pull Exotic Pineapple out of a backyard cooler on a summer day — it’s not so game-changing as to be worth despairing should supply gets tight this summer, just as it once (sort of) did for White Claw. Because in yet another summer of hard seltzer, there’s always another hard seltzer to be had.
