Always On: America’s Favorite Hard Seltzers

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I’ve already experienced 100-degree highs down here in Texas, which is typically a sign that it's time to stock the fridge with hard seltzers ahead of the summer months. Like many others I was introduced to the hard seltzer lifestyle in 2019 during the White Claw Summer phenomenon, when the demand for the summer drink literally outpaced supply. With Morning Consult’s brand tracking capabilities, you can see how awareness skyrocketed 22 points during the brief window in 2019. Awareness for the brand has continued to steadily grow ever since, though it has plateaued in recent years.

In this week’s Always On, we’re going to dive into the hard seltzer market. We'll start with a ranking of hard seltzer brands, and then we’ll explore the demographics of who’s drinking these drinks.

Ranking Hard Seltzer Brands

White Claw may have reigned supreme in 2019, but the hard seltzer throne is currently being occupied by another brand: Truly. Truly’s net favorability outpaces White Claw by about 5 points.

White Claw’s positive favorability score is actually higher than Truly’s, but the brand is being dragged down by a higher unfavorable score. 17% of consumers surveyed in the past year have an unfavorable view of White Claw, which is 9 points higher than consumers who say the same of Truly. However, far more people are aware of White Claw.

You can ask MorningConsult.AI for brand rankings of any category we track — try it yourself here.

Going Deeper: Understanding Who’s Drinking Alcoholic Seltzers

Using Morning Consult Audience data, we can build a custom audience of consumers who are drinking alcoholic seltzers at least weekly. The sample size for this audience is more than 34,000 respondents. Clients can explore this audience more here. Want access? Get in touch here.

Millennials love seltzers
Millennials are 18 points more likely than the general population to say they drink alcoholic seltzers approximately weekly.

The Golden State is a particular hotspot for seltzer drinkers
This group is four points more likely to live in California than the general population.

These consumers are early adopters of new technology
61% of weekly seltzer drinkers say they are among the first to try a new technology product.

They’re more likely to have higher levels of education
This group is six points more likely to have a bachelor’s degree and 5 points more likely to have a master’s degree.