Hard Seltzer

Originating in the US in the early 2010s, hard seltzer – alcoholic, and often flavoured, sparkling water – has taken the North American RTD (ready-to-drink) category to another level. And now Europe is seeing a notable jump in hard seltzer launches. In this session, beverage specialist Kamini Dickie looks at why the popularity of hard seltzers continues to grow and what makes them a fresh alternative to the more traditional alcoholic drinks. Casey O’Neill, Boston Beer Company’s Director of Product Development, will share the brewer’s strategy in developing one of the world’s leading hard seltzer brands. And with consumers in search of diet-friendly and cleaner label alcoholic drinks, Rhodri Evans from the consultancy group at Exponent, a firm which consults across a wide range of areas including food and chemical regulation, will focus on the European marketing challenges from a product labelling and claims perspective.