Appealing mostly to female consumers and younger consumers of legal drinking age (LDA), the flavored malt beverages (FMBs) — also known as progressive adult beverages (PABs) — segment of the beer market brings in a slightly different demographic than the typical beer drinker, says Jeff Nowicki, chief strategy officer at Bump Williams Consulting Co., Stratford, Conn.

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch (A-B), a division of AB InBev, is doubling the size of its Bud Light Lime “Ritas” portfolio with the introduction of two new permanent flavors: Mang-O-Rita and Raz-Ber-Rita.

Following steady performance in 2012, beer sales are proving to be a bright spot in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) market.

With many consumers lacking the tools or know-how to reproduce some of their favorite on-premise cocktails, beverage manufacturers have found a way to deliver that same enjoyment to consumers in their own homes.

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is adding some berry taste to its flavored malt beverage (FMB) lineup with the release of Bud Light Lime Straw-Ber-Rita. A follow up to the successful Lime-A-Rita, which launched last April and has sold more than 500,000 barrels, the Straw-Ber-Rita is an 8 percent alcohol by volume FMB that blends Bud Light Lime with the taste of a strawberry Margarita, the company says.