The NCAA tournament culminates when the broadcast network plays the One Shining Moment video, with the David Barrett song playing over the highs and lows of the tournament, including key moments from the national championship that just closed out the season. In the U.S. beer market, the highs and lows of the past year show that flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are enjoying their shining moment.

For the 52 weeks ending Jan. 28 in total U.S. multi-outlets, Chicago-based Circana data shows dollar sales for FMBs were nearly $4.4 billion, a 16.1% increase, while case sales were up 12.7%.

Ryan Toenies, client insights consultant for Circana; and Cara Piotrowski, client insights consultant for Circana, shared that for 2023, FMBs finished up 16.9% in value versus a year ago, and volume was up 13%. Although hard teas had a good year ― up 25.2% in value and up 19.2% in volume versus a year ago ― hard seltzers and hard kombuchas were not as successful. Hard seltzers were down 13.5% in value and down 18.1% in volume versus a year ago, while hard kombuchas were down 6.6% in value and down 7.1% in volume versus a year ago.

Despite the strong performance of FMBs, experts note it could not make up for hard seltzer’s performance.

“Overall, FMBs declined slightly as traditional FMB growth was not great enough to offset declines from hard seltzer,” says Brian Sudano, CEO and president of S&D Insights LLC, Norwalk, CT.

S&D Insights tracks hard seltzers as part of the FMB market, while NielsenIQ and Circana track them separately.

“Hard seltzer remains the largest individual segment of FMBs although not as big as the rest of the FMB market,” Sudano says. “Hard tea is the fastest growing segment thanks to the strength of Twisted Tea.  Other entries including Hard Lipton Ice Tea and soon Monster’s Nasty Beast will add more momentum to this section. Traditional FMBs have also been growing along with hard lemonade and hard soda.”

What is driving consumer interest in these markets is the flavor innovations that brands are bringing to market.

Chicago-based NielsenIQ experts Jon Berg, vice president of BevAl Thought Leadership; and Kaleigh Theriault, director of BevAl Thought Leadership, add that “some retailers call the segment, the flavor category.”

Circana’s Toenies and Piotrowski credit flavor profiles as well as brand equity to the performance of the segment.

“Brand equities that have crossed over from other categories have seen success in FMBs and seltzers, including Topo Chico, Simply, Mtn Dew, Monster, Lipton, Arizona, to name a few,” they say. “Bold flavor forward profiles, no/low sugar, and lower calories are also trending; counter to that, high ABV products are also in demand.”

Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea, a brand of Boston-based The Boston Beer Co., last year entered the high-ABV realm with its test launch of Twisted Tea Extreme, an 8% take on its hard iced tea lineup. Released across five test markets — New York, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Vermont — Twisted Tea Extreme was available in 24-ounce single-serve cans in two flavors: Lemon and Blue Razz.

The test launch allowed Twisted Tea to hone in on the higher-ABV space and gather direct drinker feedback before growing elsewhere, it said. The test also allowed the brand to tap into new ways to fuel the impressive growth momentum now and for the future, it noted.

In terms of leading flavor profiles in the FMB and hard seltzer space, Toenies and Piotrowski identify hard teas, hard lemonades, cocktail-styled, peach, pineapple, honey and mango. “Spiked Peach VP, Cayman Jack Margarita, Mike’s Hard Lemonade Zero Sugar and Jarritos Hard Soda VP [were] top innovations in 2023,” they add.

To continue its ascension, Toenies and Piotrowski note that FMBs could tap into health-focused innovations.

“FMBs that can tap into bold flavors and health focused attributes (no/low sugar) will continue to see success,” they say. “Brands like Twisted Tea and Mike’s have epitomized growth over decades and continue to innovate as consumers gravitate to hard tea and lemonade platforms.”

Tapping into consumers’ demand for flavorful beverage alcohol, Two Roads Brewing Co., in partnership with Guy Fieri debuted Flavortown Spiked, a new line of premium, flavored malt beverages. The line’s debut recipe, Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch, is inspired by classic fruit punch and made with real cranberry and orange juices, it says.

Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch is just the start, as the line will expand to include a variety pack of additional spiked punch and hard tea recipes in early 2024, all inspired by Fieri's favorite drinks, the company notes.

S&D Insights’ Sudano expects that consumer’s interest in new flavors will keep FMBs and hard seltzers relevant with consumers.

“Consumer desire for new taste experiences and drinks that are easy to consume, versus acquiring a taste for traditional beer, along with the convenience of an RTD format will drive continued growth and share gains over the next three years,” he says.

NielsenIQ’s Berg and Theriault also anticipate continue growth for RTD beverage alcohol.

“The product lifecycle for RTDs is still on the increase,” they say. “How long the maturity stage will be is guess work at this point. RTDs in general have been in existence a very long time.”

Although the performance of FMBs and hard seltzers have diverged, the segments show that consumers still demand flavor.