In April this year, it was confirmed that “one of the world’s most popular RTDs”, White Claw, was making its way to New Zealand… “finally”. DB Breweries confirmed the RTD would be stocked nationwide by the end of April and the excitement was real for Kiwi RTD consumers.
Let’s start with a bit of background on White Claw. First introduced in 2016, White Claw is a blend of soda water, a gluten-free malted alcohol base and fruit flavour, and it’s produced in 12 flavours (four of which are available in New Zealand).
In the summer of 2019, it was reported that White Claw accounted for more than half of all total hard seltzer sales in the United States and the US business was estimated to deliver close to $4 billion in revenue in 2020.
Much of White Claw’s appeal came down to its gender-neutral marketing, with the Washington Post reporting in 2019: “Unlike so many of its boozy predecessors, the Claw is equally beloved by men and women.”
With its launch into New Zealand, DB Breweries Senior Marketing Manager, Cormac van den Hoofdakker, said: “We have underestimated the excitement and speculation the arrival of White Claw would cause amongst New Zealanders”.
In theory, DB was right to think Kiwis would jump on the White Claw trend. The drink is perhaps the most well-known RTD for Millennials and Gen z-ers – whether they have tried it or not – thanks to social media. If I worked for DB, I would have been excited about it too.
Outside of liquor distributors, consumers and brands alike wondered if this global superstar was coming for the crown of New Zealand’s top RTD producers. So far, its reception has been a little lacklustre.
A TikTok content creator with the username Haseya – an American living in New Zealand for the past six years – posted a video this month in which he named American companies that have made their way to NZ but are totally irrelevant. Third on the list behind Reese’s Puffs and Denny’s? White Claw.
“Myself and all the other Kiwis I know have tried it and everyone I have talked to is very underwhelmed,” he said. “New Zealand already has a lot of good RTDs and I think because of the hype around it, we were all expecting it to be amazing. To be fair, it’s not awful, it’s just meh.”
Yes, it has only been in the New Zealand market for a few months but so far, the feedback from the everyday RTD consumer is that White Claw isn’t up to par with our own RTDs.
While this reception may be a little disappointing for the likes of DB Breweries and White Claw, it’s a boost for the locally-produced RTD brands that have fought their way to the top in the New Zealand market. And DB actually distributes a couple of them – Odd Company and Tui.
White Claw’s direct competitors (aka hard seltzers), including the likes of Pals, Odd Company, Hey Hey and Greenhill Seltzers, are all popular options amongst consumers, but Pals has stood out since its launch.
Selling more than 22 million cans per annum, it won the ‘Master Award’ for best in show at the Global Hard Seltzer Masters in 2022 and according to a December 2023 article by thespinoff.co.nz, “in just four years, Pals has gone from a one-man startup to a category-changing monster.”
Capitilising on the “better for you trend” which was taking off in 2019, Pals “created a new spirit-based RTD with sugar-free soda as the core mixer, vegan and gluten free, with subtle flavours and all-natural ingredients,” says The Spinoff.
With a design aesthetic that is described as “natural, fun, relaxed, minimal, unisex and thirst-quenching”, according to article, “[Pals’] emphasis on social media and festivals has made it stand out from the start, and built a formidable moat which makes its consumers fiercely loyal.”
For reference, Pals has a bit over 58k followers on Instagram.
But there are also brands, such as Hey Hey, which crept in to the market relatively quietly in 2021 and may not be smashing the social media numbers game (with just over 2000 followers) but it still has a cult following of loyal consumers.
So far, as of September 2024, White Claw NZ has 1,555 Instagram followers.
So what have we learned? While marketing has a huge place in the promotion and hype of RTDs, flavour and loyalty is important to the Kiwi consumer.
With the boom of RTDs in this country over recent years, Kiwis have developed a discerning palate when it comes to hard seltzers and they’re not going to drink something just because it’s popular.
They may TRY it because it’s popular and then head on back to their favourite flavour-filled staple, which may, or may not, have a massive social media presence.
We may be a small country but we have proved that our RTDs can rank amongst the best on the global stage and we may just have toppled White Claw’s crown – let’s see, shall we?
