Anheuser-Busch InBev's Bud Light Radler - Product Launch

Anheuser-Busch InBev's Bud Light Radler

Category - Grapefruit radler beer, 2.4% abv

Available - From this month

Location - Canada

Price - SRP CAD2.85 (US$2.15) per 473ml can; also available in 6x and 12x multipacks

Anheuser-Busch InBev has launched a radler-style Bud Light as it looks to innovate around the Budweiser extension.

The grapefruit-flavoured Bud Light Radler is rolling out in Canada first, AB InBev said this week. The market was the first to see Bud Light Apple in 2015, which according to AB InBev was one of the most popular beer launches of the past decade.

"It was this openness to a new product and the strong market opportunity that were key drivers in the decision to launch in Canada," a spokesperson told just-drinks.

Canada was also the launch market for Prohibition Brew, a non-alcoholic Budweiser.

The spokesperson said the goal with Bud Light Radler is to continue to grow the AB InBev portfolio and provide greater choice for adult consumers. Asked if the product will roll out to other markets, the spokesperson said: "At this point, we are focused on the launch of Bud Light Radler in Canada."

It is the Budweiser brand's first entry into the radler category, which first gained popularity in Germany and Austria. A radler is a mix of fruit juice - traditionally lemonade - with beer. AB InBev's Lowenbrau brand already has a radler version, a blend of natural lemonade and Munich blonde lager.

Todd Allen, VP of marketing for AB InBev's Canada unit, Labatt Breweries, said: "With the ever-changing palates of consumers, who are always looking for new flavours to try. Bud Light Radler delivers the refreshment Bud Light drinkers have come to expect with the addition of citrus flavour we are confident they will love."

---