Anheuser-Busch Unveils Low-Carb Beverage

Wednesday, June 9th 2004, 11:08 am

By: News On 6

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ With the menu of low-carb foods ever growing, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. believes consumers perhaps need something fruity, carb-friendly and alcoholic to wash it all down. Enter the world's largest brewer's latest concoction: A black cherry-flavored beverage with a splash of vanilla, packing just 2.6 grams of carbohydrates and 96 calories per 12-ounce serving.

The St. Louis-based brewer bills Bacardi Silver Low-Carb Black Cherry _ launched nationwide June 1 but formally announced Tuesday _ as the industry's lowest-carb among players in the segment of liquor-branded flavored malt beverages.

The Bacardi Silver lineup already included beverages spiked with orange, raspberry and lemon flavors, accounting for Anheuser-Busch's 24 percent share of the spirit-branded beverage segment.

The category has seen its ups and downs, rebounding a bit after a double-digit dropoff in sales last year. And the fact that no one has dominance in the segment may explain Anheuser-Busch's push to broaden its lineup, said Benj Steinman of the Beer Marketer's Insights trade magazine.

``It's all a game of line extensions right now,'' he said. ``The only thing that's generating incremental volume is new flavors. New flavors is where the action is.''

Anheuser-Busch long has considered itself ahead of the game since launching its Michelob Ultra, the first major brand in the low-carb beer niche. That product advertises 2.6 grams of carbohydrates and 95 calories, mirroring that of the black cherry malternative.

Anheuser-Busch's foray into the low-carb, spirit-branded market came a couple of months after rival Miller Brewer Co. debuted its SKYY Sport, a citrus-flavored beverage with 15 grams of carbs and 160 calories.

Miller, which introduced vodka SKYY Blue in 2002, declined to discuss Anheuser-Busch's latest offering, which reflects jockeying by brewers to capitalize on trendy, Atkins-style dieting and woo weight-conscious consumers.

``In this category, it's all about what's new and the new flavors that are out there,'' Don Meyer, Anheuser-Busch's chief of new products, told reporters Monday. ``We just want to stay aggressive in this category.''

``Malternatives,'' or alcohol products that are malt-based like beer but flavored to taste like liquor, account for about 2.4 percent of the beer market. ``Spirit-branded'' beverages account for about 70 percent of the overall malternative category.

Meyer said there were no immediate plans to offer low-carb versions of other products in the Bacardi Silver lineup, generally packing about 32 grams of carbohydrates and 225 calories per serving.

``There are some people not interested in a low-carb, low-calorie option,'' Meyer said in pitching the novelty of the black cherry drink, as of Tuesday already available in 44 states. ``Our research suggested that low-carb black cherry should be our initial offering.''

Meyer said the low-carb Bacardi Silver offering, containing 4 percent alcohol, would be marketed toward adults ages 21 to 27. Women, he said, may be likelier to try the product.

``It is slightly more female than beer. That's our thinking,'' he said.

Meyer refused to detail sales or volumes estimates for the black cherry drink or the performance of the other Bacardi Silver offerings, calling that proprietary.

The low-carb black cherry drink will be packaged in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles at Anheuser-Busch's brewery in Baldwinsville, N.Y., where the company already produces its existing Bacardi malternatives.