Spiked seltzer trend comes to the UK as drinkers swap beer and wine for low calorie alternative

They flew off the shelves of American supermarkets last summer as drinkers found a low calorie alternative to beer and wine.

Now, spiked seltzers, a mixture of sparkling water, fruit flavouring and alcohol, are set to be the latest fashionable drink in the UK.

New producers hope the low calorie recipes and unisex appeal of the tipple will appeal to millennials. Across the pond, White Claw, the market’s undisputed leader, now outsells Budweiser and Corona Extra.

Charlie Markland, Founder of London based Bodega Bay Hard Seltzers, explained sales have been unprecedented since his July 2019 launch.

“In four months I sold 3,600 cases and had to bring up a production run by five months,” he said. “We’re going on trial in 71 Sainsbury’s stores in January.”

Markland says seltzers appeal to his target audience of “woke” millennials because of their low calorie and sugar content, but also because “it turns out it’s gluten free and vegan”.

“We’re not saying we’ve got a health product here at all, but what we’re saying is that if you are making low sugar and low calorie choices all week long, and gluten upsets you and vegan is a nice aspiration, then we’re the drink you might enjoy at the weekend.

“The icing on the cake will be that it’s in a can, which is incredibly more environmentally friendly than glass.

“If Koperburg went on a crash sugar diet, this is what it would taste like. It’s still delicious, but it’s not got that tweet taste that leaves your mouth feeling like it’s full of syrup. This has exactly 80 per cent less sugar per millilitre than fruit cider.”

Key to the success of spiked seltzers is its unisex branding and appeal. According to White Claw, the gender split of their customer base is 47 per cent male, 53 per cent female.

Markland says this has helped “frat boys and gym bros” to get on board with the trend and “made it perfectly acceptable to turn up to a party with a crate of it”.

Though the drink has yet to overtake the popularity of beer and wine in the UK, summer 2020 could see spiked seltzers upset the status quo. Markland is reluctant to jinx his future prospects, but this summer could prove to be a big one for Bodega Bay.

“I think you’ve got to earn your space on the map,” Markland said. “But I think this really is a second coming category of alcoholic drinks.”