Dallas Cowboys NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman is ready to take on Big Beer names such as Budweiser and MolsonCoors with the same intensity as he did long-time rivals the New York Giants on a Sunday primetime matchup.
Well sort of, but you get the point.
Aikman, 55, revealed Tuesday he will be launching EIGHT beer after two years of developing the product along with award-winning brewmaster and beer industry veteran Phil Leinhart. Billed as suds for the modern beer drinker — in this case meaning it's made from organic grains, has no sugar and features "antioxidant-rich" Hallertau Taurus hops — EIGHT will debut first at bars and restaurants in Aikman's home field of Texas. Come March, EIGHT will find its way onto retail shelves in the Lone Star state.
The Cowboys great — who is known for making savvy investments in car dealerships and restaurant chain WingStop —tells Yahoo Finance he has long enjoyed beer, but it's time for something better, ingredient wise, for those with active lifestyles (like the jacked energetic Aikman, who has been hosting NFL games on Fox NFL "A Team" since 2002).
"There's over 8,000 breweries across America and the space that we've entered is as competitive as any of them. I've always been a beer drinker. I love beer. And when I looked at the category, I just felt that it could be better. I thought that what's available has been on the market for a long time. I think it was time for a newcomer and quite simply, I felt that we could do it better and I think that we have. So that was really the motivation behind getting behind this project," the three-time Super Bowl winner told Yahoo Finance.
Aikman's "better beer" appears to be hitting the market at the right moment in time.
According to a new survey of retailers from Uber-owned alcohol delivery service Drizly, 60% say “organic and natural” are non-price-related attributes that is increasingly influencing their purchasing decisions, especially for wine. Moreover, while half of the retailers surveyed plan to carry more hard seltzer next year, 57% expect to devote more shelf space to craft beer.
Added Aikman, "There's a lot of people like me that are very conscious of what they're putting into their bodies. They work hard during the week, and when it comes time to celebrate, don't want to compromise all the hard work that they put in throughout the week."
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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