Hard iced tea didn't exist before the product was pioneered by Twisted Tea in 2001. Now the category has global sales of $2 billion, with at least 150 brands. New entrants keep coming.
Ready-to-drink tea that is spiked with 5-8% alcohol by volume is now the top-selling segment in the US Flavored Malt Beverage (FMB) category, displacing popular hard ciders and lemonade.
Teas having an alcohol content of 1–8% currently lead the US Flavored Malt Beverage (FMB) category for the first time, displacing hard ciders, lemonades, and traditional malt beverages.
Twisted Tea remains firmly on top, with a 91% share of hard tea sales in off-premise channels in May, according to Bump Williams Consulting. That gives its owner, Boston Beer company, a 50% share of all flavored malt beverages, according to CEO Dave Burwick. The brand recently launched “Extreme,” a tea with 8% alcohol by volume (ABV), available in two flavors.
Challengers are coming on strong. In April, Lipton launched a 5% ABV, non-carbonated tea in three flavors. In June, AriZona introduced a 5% ABV version of its popular 99-cent iced tea. The hard tea sells for $3.49 per can. Flavors include peach, lemon, and green tea with ginseng and honey.
Other names include White Claw, Peace, and Monster. Hard tea products are being launched by craft brewers (Cape May), restaurants (Bojangles Hard Sweet Tea), and spirits makers, including Deep Eddy Vodka (Vodka + Hard Tea Seltzers).
The global market for hard tea, estimated at $2 billion last year, will grow to almost $20 billion by 2032, according to market research firm Fact.MR. Marketers forecast a combined average growth rate of 24.7% to 25.25% during the coming decade.
There are now 150 hard tea brands in the market, an increase of 80% since 2020, according to BevNet Magazine (May-June 2023). The number of stock keeping units (SKUs) — one is assigned for each hard tea flavor and package — has increased from 161 in 2020 to 216 in 2023, according to data shared by Bump Williams Consulting (BWC)
GrandviewResearch writes that the hard iced tea market is roughly divided by ABV content. At the low end, brands have 2%–5% ABV while the rest are rated at 5.1% and more. Lower ABV products, which appeal to young drinkers, have the largest share.