Brief - The Hustle

The Claw craze: Sales of White Claw hard seltzer have surged 320% since last year

Written by Wes Schlagenhauf | Jun 30, 2020 9:36:28 AM

Hard seltzer water is the drink of the summer. Studies show there’s been a 210% increase in spending on the entire market compared to last year — and White Claw has accounted for around $71m of those sales; bubbling a whopping 320% from the year prior.

White Claw is so popular that some bars and grocery stores are reportedly having trouble keeping it in stock — but why?

Now, seltzer helps with heartburn… and gets you wasted

According to The Guardian, fans say, “It’s not just a drink. It’s a lifestyle.” The alcoholic seltzer is sparkling at bars and grocery stores across the US. The fruity fizz is rearing its multi-colored cans at beaches, music festivals, and barbecues.

With only 100 calories and 2 grams of carbs, The Claw craze comes as young Americans aim to live healthier and lower-alcohol lifestyles.

It only has 5% alcohol, which is significantly lower than the average alcohol content of wine (12%) and liquor (37%).

All the brands want a piece of the fizz biz

As the Claw craze gets crazier with overall demand, a viral controversy, and its own meme genre, heavy hitters like Smirnoff and Corona have all rolled out their own varieties of the drink to get in on the action.

But, like La Croix in the non-alcoholic bubbly water space, there are few brands that can even compare to White Claw’s popularity in the dizzy fizzy market (Truly being the only one thus far). 

After all, you can’t bro out to White Claw Wednesday with a Zima Hard Seltzer.