Anheuser-Busch to launch lime-flavored beer . . . eew
Posted by: in Products and ServicesFiled under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD)
When I first saw the story in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that Anheuser-Busch Cos. (NYSE: BUD) planned to sell lime-flavored Bud Light, I thought the king of beers had gotten a little soft in the head. Then I feared for the country when I learned that rival SABMiller Plc. (LON: SAB) is gaining sales with a revolting-sounding beverage called Miller Chill which the Journal described as a “lime-and-salt-flavored light lager modeled after Mexican concoctions know as micheladas.”
It seems that at some point in the 1980s or 1990s, people no longer drank beer just because they were thirsty. Instead, they needed to make a lifestyle choice. Smart, sophisticated people needed to show how cool they were by drinking overpriced imports or microbrews. I was not immune to the marketing of the time and wound up drinking a few brews with limes wedged into them until I learned better.
Former advertising executive John Greening, who did work for Anheuser-Busch, raised a more serious issue, pointing out, “their hot hand has always been Bud Light. This takes the attention away from the hot hand.”
Although I might think lime in beer is sacrilegious, I recognize that my view may be in the minority. Many people, particularly women, may find Bud Light with lime more palatable than the regular Bud Light because of its sweeter taste. Anheuser-Busch, whose stock hasn’t done squat for the past five years, also needs to find ways to boost flat sales of beer.
Even so, adding fruit to beer seems as silly as adding ketchup to prime rib. It’s something that people who know better shouldn’t do.
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