Rural sales, new seltzer brands drive beer sales
7% increase in Oklahoma is thanks to eightfold increase in number of hard seltzer options available, Beer Alliance says
“In 2019, there were only five seltzer brands available ... and sales were about 5,000 cases.”
Lisette Barnes
President, Oklahoma Beer Alliance
In case you missed it, hard seltzer is looking more and more like the new king of beer.
The biggest shift in customer behavior, according to analysis of sales trends, is the switch to hard seltzer, an often fruity drink that’s part sparkling water and part alcohol.
“In 2019, there were only five seltzer brands available in Oklahoma and sales were about 5,000 cases,” said Lisette Barnes, president of the Oklahoma Beer Alliance.
Now, she said, OBA member distributors are stocking over 40 seltzer brands, with upwards of 81,000 cases sold.
Saturday Night Live even poked fun at the rising popularity of these fizzy drinks with a recent skit lampooning major brands’ rush to put their own seltzer on the market. In the sketch, a writer reaches for a “J.C. Penney” brand hard seltzer, and another writer walks in with a case of “Jiffy Lube” hard seltzer..
Byron’s Liquor Warehouse manager Blake Cody said the seltzer craze blew up after Truly and White Claw entered the market.
“The demand just was skyrocketing to the point where distributors couldn’t even get enough of that product into the state to keep shelves flush,” Cody said. “What we’ve seen the last couple of years now is that all of these other brands have caught on to the fact that that’s become kind of like a new category, a new niche.”
There’s even a Sonic-branded hard seltzer, patterned after the drive-in restaurant’s fountain drink flavors. COOP Ale Works, which
produces the Sonic seltzers, also has its own label, Will & Wiley.
There’s also a seasonal component, with seltzers being viewed as a lighter option during hot months compared to heavier beers. Local resident Jason Hines said he switches during the summer to hard seltzers almost exclusively.
“It’s a low-calorie, very refreshing option for the summer months,” Hines said. “Fall through spring, I still drink beer that fits the season.”
Hard seltzers aren’t the only beer types with a rising reputation. Lowcalorie or light beer sales have grown 41%, and craft beer has become more popular with a 7% growth compared to 2019. Cody said the rising popularity of these beers has come at the expense of imported brews.
“People aren’t gravitating to the imported European stuff as much, like your Heinekens (a Dutch beer),” he said. “Those have definitely dropped off.”
Overall, beer sales by volume grew by 6.8%, according to OBA, the state’s largest beer distribution advocacy group.
Another significant driver of growth, especially for on-premise retailers like bars and restaurants, was location. Those sales in rural Oklahoma grew 13% when comparing the second quarters of 2019 and 2021.
“In the second quarter of 2021, the rural onpremise market was well ahead of the metro markets and was the driver of our overall growth,” said Jason Hall, senior general manager of distributor AB One Oklahoma. “We saw this trend begin in late 2020 and early 2021 as a result of continuing COVID-19 restrictions in certain areas and other locales shifting restrictions.”
As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the United States, Oklahoma’s largest cities were more likely to temporarily close bars and some restaurants than rural municipalities.
Data from the Oklahoma Beer Alliance shows this effect, with on-premise sales in metro-area bars and restaurants falling by 3.5% in the pandemic’s first months. Comparatively, purchases of take-home alcohol from liquor and convenience stores grew by 4% in Oklahoma City and 8% in Tulsa during the same period.
Some of the growth can be attributed to city residents flocking to the country for recreation amid the lockdown and social distancing, said Barnes, president of the OBA.
“I don’t attribute that to only being the rural population having consumed more, but having more of our metropolitan folks trying to get out to the rural areas,” she said.
Increased beer sales is reflected in the state’s tax revenue. During the 20182019 fiscal year, the Oklahoma Tax Commission collected about $64.5 million from all alcohol sales. Compared to the most recent year for which data is available, revenue grew by more than $9 million.
“I attribute these shifts in Oklahomans’ beer purchasing habits in two ways —
the first is embracing a more active lifestyle and the second is portability,” said Hall. “All of the brands that we’re seeing an increase of sales in, check all of these boxes.”
Staff writer Dale Denwalt covers Oklahoma’s economy and business news for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Dale? He can be reached at ddenwalt@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @denwalt. Support Dale’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.