“The Food Biz” is a new podcast where you can take a bite out of the latest headlines, trends, and insights within the Food and Beverage Industry. Have you listened to Episode 3 yet? If you haven't, you're missing out! In Episode 3 hosts Ryan Nelson and Kristyn Tarpey discuss the hard seltzer market and where they see it going.

The episode starts out with a discussion on Boston Beer, the maker of Sam Adams beer and Truly Seltzers, reporting earnings below analyst expectations, which resulted in the stock falling 26% on Friday. This led into a discussion on if the hard seltzer craze is coming to an end. From personal experience Kristyn doesn’t see the hard seltzer market going anywhere anytime soon. Ryan agrees and believes the issue may not be the seltzer market, but may be that Boston Beer miscalculated demand due to the wide variety of seltzer options available on the market. Kristyn quoted Boston Beer founder Jim Koch who said “the hard seltzer category and overall beer industry were softer than we had anticipated. The seemingly endless arrival of new seltzer brands is causing “consumer confusion” and fewer people are trying the once-hot beverage.”

Both Kristyn and Ryan agree that the market is oversaturated and it seems like every alcohol brand is coming out with a seltzer beverage. They applaud Molson Coors, who discontinued their Coors Seltzer, and are doubling down on premium seltzers like Topo Chico. Ryan notes that Topo Chico has been successful in the US as well as abroad. Kristyn notes that projections from Grandview Research are showing that Asia Pacfic is the fastest growing market for hard seltzers.

Kristyn and Ryan also discuss how diet trends, like Keto, can impact consumers' alcohol preferences. With beer typically being high in carbs, low carb alternatives like seltzers are attractive to these health conscious consumers. Kristyn also notes that the hard seltzer market initially appealed more to women, but that differentiation is on the outs, which is expanding the market and points towards the industry continuing to see success.

You can listen to the entire episode now to learn more about where the hard seltzer market is going. We couldn’t fit everything they discussed into one blog post, so don’t forget to subscribe to "The Food Biz" on Spotify or in the Apple Podcasts App. We're thrilled to release this podcast, and would love to hear your input. Reach out to us by email at news@barchart.com with any discussion topics, questions, comments, or overall feedback; Ryan and Kristyn would love to hear from you!