Anheuser-Busch InBev has launched a new spirits-based tea in the US – Skimmers.
The company’s US arm, Anheuser-Busch, describes the ready-to-drink brand as a “non-carbonated vodka tea”.
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Commenting on the launch, the group said: “Innovation has always been a part of who we are at Anheuser-Busch – ensuring that there’s a beverage in our portfolio for 21+ consumers with different preferences.”
It said the vodka tea segment had been growing “exponentially”, adding: “Consumers want a light, smooth and balanced spirits-based ready-to-drink that can be enjoyed in various occasions.”
The Skimmers brand is made using vodka distilled by its Cutwater Spirits brand, plus “real tea and natural flavours”.
AB InBev added Cutwater Spirits to its Beyond Beer portfolio in 2019. The purchase marked the group’s first push into spirits in the US at the time.
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By GlobalDataBased at a 50,000 square-foot distillery and production site in San Diego, California, Cutwater Spirits produces a range of premixed cocktail RTDs and bottled spirits, including whiskey, rum, mezcal, Tequila and gin.
Skimmers is being sold in a four-pack format in the flavours original tea, peach tea, and the so-called Half & Half. It is also available in a variety eight-pack with two of each flavour, as well as an additional lemonade variety.
With an ABV of 4.5%, the 355ml drinks are also low in calories and sugar and are gluten-free.
The brand is launching in nearly 20 states across the US, including Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Florida and Ohio.
AB InBev’s Skimmers will be coming up against other popular non-carbonated hard tea drinks in the US market, such as Surfside.
Speaking to Just Drinks earlier this year, CEO Clement Pappas said the group was looking to double its sales volumes in 2025 to 10 million cases as it looked to expand distribution to all 50 states in the US by the spring.
AB InBev has made other extensions to its Beyond Beer portfolio this year. In January, the group announced plans to play in the US energy-drinks category through a tie-up with sports nutrition and supplements group 1st Phorm.
The collaboration is “aimed at fueling new innovations within the rapidly growing energy drinks and related beverage segments”, according to AB InBev’s US arm Anheuser-Busch.
