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Bars are getting flatter. Vodka waters are replacing vodka seltzers, tequila and soda is now tequila and water. It turns out Gen Z is fussy about the fizz in their drinks. <\/p>\n
Non-carbonated drinks made up 38% of new product launches in the $22 billion premixed drink market last year, up from 27% in 2021, according to Bloomberg<\/a>. \u201cBecause there\u2019s no bubbles, you don\u2019t feel so full,\u201d says Emily Aprigliano, a 26-year-old New Yorker who switched to canned cocktails after trying non-bubbly Surfside on a beach trip. \u201cYou can\u2019t even taste the alcohol, so they just kind of go back easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Surfside, made by Philadelphia-based Stateside Brands, is now one of the fastest-growing alcohol brands in the US, built around the trademarked slogan \u201cNo Bubbles, No Troubles.\u201d Boston Beer followed two years later with Sun Cruiser, which is now propping up sales as its Truly seltzer brand slows down.<\/p>\n Smaller startups saw the shift coming even earlier. Jill Morrison started sipping spa water with a splash of vodka on a Dominican Republic vacation, then launched Mom Water with her husband in southern Indiana in 2021. \u201cThe competitive landscape is tenfold what it was five years ago,\u201d says co-founder Bryce Morrison. The brand is on track to top 1 million cases this year.<\/p>\n Even hard seltzer giant Gallo is adapting. The company launched Lucky One Lemonade with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, which sold 1 million cases in its first seven months, a sign the Millennial-era hard seltzer boom is waning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Bars are getting flatter. Vodka waters are replacing vodka seltzers, tequila and soda is now tequila and water. It turns out Gen Z is fussy about the fizz in their drinks. <\/p>\n Non-carbonated drinks made up 38% of new product launches in the $22 billion premixed drink market last year, up from 27% in 2021, according to Bloomberg<\/a>. \u201cBecause there\u2019s no bubbles, you don\u2019t feel so full,\u201d says Emily Aprigliano, a 26-year-old New Yorker who switched to canned cocktails after trying non-bubbly Surfside on a beach trip. \u201cYou can\u2019t even taste the alcohol, so they just kind of go back easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Surfside, made by Philadelphia-based Stateside Brands, is now one of the fastest-growing alcohol brands in the US, built around the trademarked slogan \u201cNo Bubbles, No Troubles.\u201d Boston Beer followed two years later with Sun Cruiser, which is now propping up sales as its Truly seltzer brand slows down.<\/p>\n Smaller startups saw the shift coming even earlier. Jill Morrison started sipping spa water with a splash of vodka on a Dominican Republic vacation, then launched Mom Water with her husband in southern Indiana in 2021. \u201cThe competitive landscape is tenfold what it was five years ago,\u201d says co-founder Bryce Morrison. The brand is on track to top 1 million cases this year.<\/p>\n Even hard seltzer giant Gallo is adapting. The company launched Lucky One Lemonade with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, which sold 1 million cases in its first seven months, a sign the Millennial-era hard seltzer boom is waning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n