Molson Coors moves ‘beyond beer’

Molson Coors has said it is ‘moving beyond beer’ as young consumers look to different types of drinks, including low- and no-alcohol products.

CEO of Molson Coors Gavin Hattersley told CNBC on Wednesday (4) the company is investing in nonalcoholic offerings as consumers trend toward health and wellness.

Hattersley said some consumers — especially younger people in their 20s — are focusing on wellness, but that this change in behavior plays into the company’s strategy. Molson Coors is known for beverages including Miller Lite, Blue Moon, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and the eponymous Coors Lite.

“We’re moving beyond beer, we’re moving into ‘non-alc’ products, whether those are energy drinks, whether they’re nonalcoholic beers,” Hattersley said. He added the company is launching a nonalcoholic version of Blue Moon in time for “dry January.”

Molson Coors’ brewers have been able to make the popular beer’s nonalcoholic offering taste very similar to the real thing, he stated.

“If it tastes good, the consumers are going to drink them,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting that in the market in December.”

Molson Coors’ Beyond Beer portfolio, which includes flavored alcohol beverages, spirits and non-alcohol beverages, has been key to its premiumization efforts and is expected to continue to grow.

The company expects Beyond Beer to drive about half of its above-premium net sales revenue growth over the medium term, on the back of flavor winners like Simply Spiked and Vizzy Hard Seltzer, whiskeys from Coors Spirits Co., energy drinks from ZOA, ciders in the UK, and more.

The company is growing net sales revenue in its top markets of the US, Canada and the UK, and is on track to deliver its second straight year of top- and bottom-line growth, a trend he expects to continue.