Molson Coors Beverage Company’s revitalization plan is paying off big time in Canada. During the company’s recent Q3 earnings call, Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) CEO Gavin Hattersley highlighted Molson’s successes in Canada, many of which were driven by the country’s budding hard seltzer market and broader Beyond Beer category.
In late 2019 Molson Coors unveiled its detailed revitalization plan. At the time, Hattersley explained,“…[O]ur strategy has been focused on driving top-line growth and enhancing operational efficiencies with an emphasis on continuing to advance our long history of sustainability. Through dedicated support of our iconic brands, exciting new innovations, and partnerships with leaders in both beer and adjacent categories, we strive to optimize our portfolio to best capitalize on industry growth trends and serve our customers even better.”
As part of the revitalization plan Molson Coors invested $100 million into the company’s Canadian operations to bolster hard seltzer production. According to TAP, the sizable investment will quadruple output capacity in Canada’s facilities.
The company is also outfitting its Toronto facility with new, state-of-the-art equipment and technologies. The new equipment will result in capacity growth of more than 300% for the brand’s malt and spirit-based hard seltzers.
“The No.1 priority for our Canadian business is ramping up our hard seltzers to position ourselves as a top-share performer,” insisted Brian Erhardt, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Molson Coors. In the US the hard seltzer market is maturing, but in Canada and beyond hard seltzers are relatively new.
By positioning itself to capture the Canadian market early, Molson Coors is setting itself up for future victories.
Along with recent investments, the company’s push for premiumization appears to be successfully growing its Canadian portfolio. TAP Canada is home to beer brands such as Miller Lite, Molson Ultra and the craft brew selection at Six Pints Specialty Beer Company.
However, as Hattersley pointed out during the company’s earnings call
last month, hard seltzer brands are leading the way, “…[T]he percentage of Molson Coors portfolio that is above premium has surpassed 25% of our brand volume net sales revenue on a trailing 12-month basis for the first time since the revitalization plan was announced. And that progress is being seen throughout the company. The early returns on our Canadian Hard Seltzer portfolio have exceeded expectations with both Vizzy and Coors [sales] generating strong market share.”
Vizzy and Coors Seltzer launched in Canada this past spring. Both brands are currently among the top ten hard seltzers in the country according to market share. Vizzy even debuted its new lemonade offerings
eight months ahead of schedule in the Canadian market as a result of the brand’s early success.
Hattersley anticipates Topo Chico Hard Seltzer’s performance will be equally impressive when it is released in the country next year, “We will extend that streak when we [introduce] Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in Canada in 2022, which we announced this month.”
Hattersley and his team at Molson Coors are excited about the growth the Canadian market has experienced thus far, “We have improved our national share trend for eight straight months, leading to total share growth in the third quarter. This is the best share trend performance we have seen in at least six years. As the on-premise reopens in Canada, our share is growing above 2019 levels, a big driver of our progress.”
Molson Coors has its sights set on Canada’s burgeoning hard seltzer market as well as the country’s larger Beyond Beer category. As the alcohol beverage company continues to invest in and improve its diverse Canadian portfolio of Beyond Beer products, TAP hopes to be celebrating continued success throughout Q4 and well into the future.
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