Sparkling Seltzer, where did you come from?

Candidly, I hadn't heard about sparkling seltzer until 2019. It's come up three times in the past week alone. (1) Two friends from undergrad recently dropped everything they were doing to start a business called Two Robbers (https://www.tworobbers.com/) and are starting to raise capital, (2) Michael Preis talked about the explosive growth of the category last week in class, and (3) I saw some marketing for While Claw as I was flipping through apps on my phone this afternoon.

The six major brands in the category include Nauti, Spiked (owned by AB InBev), Smirnoff, White Claw, Truly (owned by Boston Beer Company), and Henry's. While the category was originally created in 2013, growth has exploded over the past year as consumers seek healthier alternatives to beer, wine, and cocktails. The category was estimated at $450mm in 2018, up from ~$150mm the prior year. Hard seltzers usually have less calories than even a light beer (i.e., Bud Light) and also beat other types of drinks on carbohydrates as well.

Source: Good Beer Hunting