Building on hot stretch that started with the February introduction of slim cans and a 12-pack variety pack, Henry’s Hard Sparkling Water next week will begin airing four new videos on targeted digital and social channels.
The spots, which will air for at least six weeks this fall, zoom in on the brand’s lowest-in-class calories and sugar and tout Henry’s as “the lightest hard sparkling water.”
With zero sugar and 88 calories per 12-ounce can, Henry’s is sharpening its message to appeal to consumers seeking a healthy lifestyle, who have flocked in droves to lower-calorie alcohol beverages over the past three years.
Hard seltzers like Henry’s Hard Sparkling, Spiked Seltzer, Truly Spiked & Sparkling and White Claw have led the way. The category as a whole has more than doubled year-to-date through Sept. 30 and will post its third consecutive year of triple-digit growth, according to Nielsen.
Henry’s Hard Sparkling is up more than 105 percent year-to-date, but it has accelerated significantly over the summer and into fall, according to Nielsen cross-channel and convenience data. The brand is up 178 percent in the most-recent 13 weeks and 248 percent over the last four weeks, per Nielsen.
“This is a category that’s posted the highest growth rate across all of the beer, malt and hard cider segment year-to-date, and so far brand loyalty is really low at just about 5 percent,” says Sarah Walsh, an associate marketing manager. “We continue to see a big opportunity for Henry’s, especially because we know we have the best better-for-you claims out there.”
Henry’s Hard Sparkling’s primary competitors in the space each clock in with higher calories and sugar per 12-ounce serving, based on nutrition serving facts data.
Because consumers ranked calories and sugar content as the top two considerations when choosing a hard sparkling water brand, according to Ipsos data analyzed by MillerCoors, “our claims are what differentiates us from the pack, and that’s why you’ll see them more prominently displayed in our marketing and on our packaging,” Walsh says.
Coming in December: New 12-pack packaging that better highlights Henry’s calories, sugar and carbs. It will act as a bridge to a more-robust modernization and re-design planned for 2019 that goes even further.