White Claw sinks into vodka

The Future. White Claw is getting into vodka with an affordable price and a variety of flavors. The hope is to crack into the $7.2 billion market and unseat the reigning champ, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which last year represented 25% of all vodka sales in US retail stores. With White Claw’s brand loyalty, they might be able to swoop in and do just that.

Color profile
White Claw wants to ride its wave of goodwill into the vodka market — the most popular spirit among college kids.

• White Claw Premium Vodka will be available in bottles, while 12-ounce vodka and soda cocktails will be available in 12-ounce cans.
• The vodka will be available in both a straight version and flavored versions, such as mango, pineapple, and black cherry.

The vodka will be priced comparatively to a bottle of Tito’s (about $20), which is the best-selling vodka brand in the US.

Another round
Anthony von Mandl, the owner of White Claw’s parent company Mark Anthony Group, named two forces that made him consider vodka:

• Hard seltzer sales have started to slip after a massive boom over the past several years.
• The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau updated the rules that had previously required vodka to be “without distinctive character, aroma, taste, or color.”

With the White Claw brand still being the market leader in hard seltzers, the time was right for a pivot.