In the world of light drinks, and the many innovations in the field, hard-seltzers are gradually taking on an important role. However, the concept is still poorly understood in France. In some supermarkets, they can be found in the middle of vodkas or they can be described as "flavoured beers", but this is not the case.
By definition, a hard seltzer is an alcoholic, flavoured sparkling water, but the category is much more diverse. For example, there are more and more wine seltzer, a hard seltzer made from de-alcoholised wine and flavourings. These drinks, which rarely exceed 5% alcohol, are also very low in calories, which explains their success on American beaches.
Indeed, hard-seltzers are a runaway success across the Atlantic. The market analysis institute IWSR announced last week that the category will "far exceed" the initial forecast of 281 million cases sold in the US by 2023, two years ahead of schedule. Analysis in 2019 predicted that sales would double in four years, but the phenomenal success of these beverages is exceeding all estimates. Molson, for example, after increasing its production of hard seltzer by 400% in 2020 in the United States, has decided to invest $100 million in this category in order to increase its Canadian production by 300%. The hard-seltzer market appeared five years ago and is now worth $3 billion.
If the success of hard-seltzers is growing in the United States, France is not to be outdone. Coca-Cola just launched its hard seltzer in French supermarkets last month and 100% French creations are flourishing (DILU, Café de Paris, Opean, etc.). Hard seltzers are already present in one shop out of two. If their launch is still timid, the progression of sales seems to have accelerated in the last few weeks, with turnover having doubled between March and April. According to Nicolas Léger, analyst director at NielsenIQ, the category should be very successful this summer, particularly thanks to the Euro football tournament and the high temperatures forecast.