Why do millennials love Instagramable drinks like rosé, spritzers and White Claw with low alcohol content?
Spiked seltzer is low in alcohol, calories and sugar – and that’s a big part of its appeal to millennials, who are dubbed the wellness generation
Millennials are thirsty, and it’s not for beer or traditional hard liquor.
Instead, they’ve been quenching their thirst with hard seltzer (blend of carbonated water, alcohol and fruit flavouring) – the “drink of the summer”, according to The New York Times’ Sheila Marikar.
Millennials are calling for a style of wine that is lighter in colour and taste, which just so happens to align itself with the ‘millennial pink’ trend that is tied closely to the Instagram culture of showcasing everything you do, including eating and drinking. What’s more enticing to drink than a beverage that also photographs beautifully?”
Hard seltzer has taken the summer by storm, largely thanks to young millennial men who identify as “bros”, reported Business Insider’s Bethany Biron. “At barbecues, on beaches, and at fraternity parties, legions of men are suddenly singing the praises of hard seltzer,” she wrote.
The carbonated drink is enjoying the same attention that other signature drinks did in previous summers. Last year, the drink of the summer was Aperol Spritz. In 2017, it was canned wine. And the summer before that, it was frosé, an evolution of 2015’s drink of the summer – rosé.
But what do these drinks have in common, besides some brilliant marketing strategies? One word: millennials.
While these drinks have driven consumption trends across all demographics, “they may appeal more to millennials because they are non-polarising, meaning, for instance, there was no preconceived stigma on who a rosé drinker was [or should be],” says Brandy Rand, chief operations officer of the Americas at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.
“There are a few crossover traits as well,” she adds. “Aperol Spritz is colourful, has low-ABV, and [is] refreshing; hard seltzers are refreshing, low-calorie and portable; rosé has been cited as a millennial colour and canned versions are portable.”
It says a lot about what the generation likes.
Millennials are all about health, which means drinks with less alcohol and fewer carbs