The Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) hard seltzer plant in central New York is scheduled to receive a major share of the company’s recently announced $1 billion investment over the next two years. The announcement came as the company continues to look “Beyond Beer” as it amplifies its production of hard seltzer and other beer alternatives.

A-B wants to do its part to boost the national economy, which has taken a hit thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The billion dollar investment will encompass facilities across 26 states, including both production and distribution facilities. Approximately $400 million is earmarked for A-B’s 12 US breweries.

The Baldwinsville, NY facility, in the Radisson Business Park, is rumored to receive a significant portion of the overall investment. The plant currently employs about 500 workers, and a big goal of the investment includes “job creation and retention,” according to a statement from the company.

Of the $1 billion, $100 million is also already earmarked for sustainability projects meant to make the company more eco-friendly, such as installation of solar panels and water treatments.

The Baldwinsville plant has been a major hub for A-B’s hard seltzer production, which the company plans to increase in the coming months. The NY-based plant notably launched production of Bud Light Seltzer in early 2020, prior to expanding to other production plants.

The plant also produces such other spiked and sparkling favorites as Bon V!V, Bud Light Lemonade Seltzer, Bud Light Platinum Seltzer, Natural Light (Natty) Seltzer, and the premium Social Club.

Hard seltzer sales have grown exponentially since the category was first introduced in 2016. In fact, national sales have doubled every year since then. According to market research company Nielsen, hard seltzer sales now exceed $2.7 billion per year.

Although it may have been late to the boozy bubbly water party, Bud Light Seltzer had its sights set on major competitors like White Claw and Truly from its introduction. “Even if we weren’t there first, we have the resources to fast-follow,” Andy Goeler, Bud Light’s vice president, said at the seltzer’s launch last January. “This company has a long legacy of leading the market.”

Other upgrades for the Baldwinsville plant will include upgrading packaging lines for the iconic “skinny” cans so often affiliated with hard seltzer. Planned line upgrades will also make it easier to produce variety packs, another key feature of the seltzer segment.

It is exciting to see such beverage power houses like A-B making strides to up their seltzer games. Beer alternatives, such as hard seltzer, make up approximately 30 percent of the beverages produced at the Baldwinsville plant.

If A-B’s 2021 Super Bowl commercials have taught us anything, it is that the company is looking toward a future beyond beer. The iconic Budweiser sat on the benches in favor of new A-B family members Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade and Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer. Today’s consumers largely favor spiked and sparkling alcowaters over more traditional beer, and A-B’s investments – in advertising and production alike – only serve to underscore the shift in the bubbly tides.

Erin Grafton
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