Truly Punch’s impressive debut has bolstered the hard seltzer brand’s sales numbers and paved the way for an equally impressive stock market performance from parent company, Boston Beer (SAM). The punch, which Truly’s Vice President, Don Lane, called its “biggest flavor yet,” launched nationwide last month and quickly became a consumer favorite.
Truly has consistently controlled around 25% of the hard seltzer market, the second largest portion after White Claw, which controls nearly 60%. According to ISI data, in the past two weeks Truly’s market share has risen steeply to over 30% thanks, in large part, to the punch’s performance.
Quarantine-related regulations shuttered bars and restaurants nationwide for the majority of last year. As a result, many of the largest alcohol beverage companies, including Boston Beer, suffered dramatic dips in their on-premise sales numbers. Boston Beer has relied heavily on Truly’s unwavering performance to bridge the gap– a strategy which, so far, has proven successful.
Boston Beer recently reported a Q1 profit of $65.6 million, which is more than triple the $18.2 million profit the company reported at the end of last year’s first quarter.
“While it’s still early days for Punch, we believe that initial performance reinforces that SAM continues to lead innovation in hard seltzers and the broader beer category,” a spokesperson for the prominent investment banking advisory firm, Evercore ISI, insisted. The firm expects Boston Beer and Truly to keep gaining traction well into the warmer months as summer is typically hard seltzer’s time to shine.
Truly Punch comes in four “bold fruit flavors” including Fruit Punch, Berry Punch, Tropical Punch and Citrus Punch. Each 12 ounce can contains 100 calories, 1 gram of sugar and 5% ABV.
Earlier this year Truly claimed its brand is growing 122% faster than any of its competitors in the hard seltzer market. This comes as no surprise considering the brand has recently launched several successful products.
Truly Innovation
By the end of last year Truly was already hitting its stride with its line of classic hard seltzers as well as Truly Lemonade Hard Seltzer, which launched in January 2020, both performing well. Truly’s Classic Hard Seltzers now come in a dozen flavors and three different variety packs. Truly’s Lemonade Hard Seltzer comes in five flavors including Original Lemonade, Watermelon Lemonade, Black Cherry Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade and Mango Lemonade. Truly’s Classic Hard Seltzers and its Lemonade Hard Seltzers all contain 100 calories, 1 gram of sugar and 5% ABV.
Truly entered 2021 with its sights set on conquering the seltzer market. In January of this year Truly launched a line of Iced Tea Hard Seltzers featuring flavors like Strawberry Tea, Lemon Tea, Raspberry Tea and Peach Tea. Each 12 ounce can of the iced tea hard seltzers contains 100 calories, 1 gram of sugar and 5% ABV.
In March, just a few months after its spiked tea hit shelves, the brand launched Truly Extra
, an imperial hard seltzer featuring an enhanced ABV of 8%. Truly Extra comes in two flavors including Black Raspberry and Peach Mango. Each 16 ounce can contains 220 calories and 1 gram of sugar.
Most recently, Truly launched a limited edition line of Lemonade Freeze Pops. The boozy frozen treats hit shelves June 1st, just in time for summer. Each 100ml freeze pop contains 80 calories and 5% ABV.
Dave Burwick, the President and CEO of Boston Beer, recently made it clear that the company would continue to bank on Beyond Beer with Truly leading the way, “[W]e expect the Truly brand to continue to lead the growth of the business as it has come to stand for a great-tasting, refreshing, pure-play hard seltzer brand[…] We will continue to invest heavily in the broader Truly brand and work to improve our position in the hard seltzer category, as competition continues to increase.”
As Truly continues to dictate Boston Beer’s success, investors will almost certainly be keeping a close watch on the hard seltzer’s performance.
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