Travis Scott is the latest entrant in the (very crowded) spiked seltzer wars
Travis Scott is partnering with Anheuser-Busch on a new agave-spiked seltzer called Cacti, bringing yet another label to the crowded spiked seltzer market.
AB InBev, the brewer of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, announced the new beverage on Thursday. Scott, whose record label is called Cactus Jack, says the seltzer — made with blue agave from Mexico — was inspired by his love of tequila. It will come in lime, pineapple and strawberry flavors.
“Cacti is something I’m really proud of and have put a ton of work into,” Scott said in a statement. “I’m really excited to put this out in 2021 and see other people be able to enjoy it.”
Though seltzer shelves are now crowded with big names, sales keep skyrocketing, according to Nielsen. There are more than 65 brands on shelves, compared with around 30 brands last year.
In the first 10 months of the year, hard seltzer sales hit $3.2 billion, a staggering 188% increase from the same time period a year ago.
Nielsen said that White Claw remains the top-selling beverage, with Truly Hard Seltzer in second place, Bud Light Hard Seltzer in third and Corona Seltzer in fourth.
Anheuser-Busch already sells Bon & Viv, Social Club Seltzer, Natty Light Seltzer and Bud Light Seltzer. Sales of those brands have been a bright spot for the brewer after the pandemic shut down bars and restaurants, which crushed beer sales.
Scott, for his part, has been riding high on the success of his 2020 promotions since his Fortnite concert deal with video game developer Epic Games set an all-time concurrent views record for the platform with more than 12.3 million viewers.
And Scott’s October partnership with Mcdonald’s on its limited Travis Scott Meal promotion caused some of the burger maker’s locations to run out of supplies.
“Scott is incredibly connected to his fans and what’s new and next in culture,” Anheuser-Busch president of Beyond Beer Fabricio Zonzini said in a written statement. “As we continue in our mission to lead industry innovation and optimize our portfolio for the future, I’m excited that we can play a role in bringing to life Scott’s vision to deliver something new to the hard seltzer space.”