SunnyD, one of the largest juice brands in America, is making a foray into the hard seltzer market.
The company announced the debut of its newest product, SunnyD Vodka Seltzer, in a press release on March 7. The tangy and refreshing new adult beverage combines the brand’s signature orange flavor with vodka and seltzer.
SunnyD Vodka Seltzer is a low-calorie, zero-sugar, 4.5% alcoholic fizzy drink. It will come in a four-pack 12-ounce can with a suggested retail price of $9.99. The product will be available at select Walmart stores on March 11.
According to Ilene Bergenfeld, Harvest Hill Beverage Company’s chief marketing officer, the product was created in response to customer requests, with many noting how much they liked using SunnyD as a mixer.
SunnyD’s success story began in 1963 when two dads in Florida created a bright orange drink that served as an alternative to traditional orange juice. The product enjoyed a surge in popularity in the 1990s and has since become an iconic brand with a dedicated fan base, thanks in part to its quips on Twitter.
The newest spiked seltzer from SunnyD joins many others in the alcoholic beverage industry, such as White Claw, Truly Vodka Seltzer, as well as the adult makeovers of Coca-Cola, Mountain Dew, and Simply Lemonade, per CBS News.
According to the press release, SunnyD Vodka Seltzer underwent a rigorous blind taste test, which revealed that tasters favored it over other brands on the market. As many as 57% reported that it was better than their usual hard seltzers, while 85% noted its unique taste.
Ready-to-drink beverages like canned cocktails and spiked seltzers have been very “trendy” in the past few years, although some in the industry have noted a recent slowdown. Likely due to an oversaturation of the market and a post-pandemic shift in drinking trends away from the home and back to the bars, as Business Insider reported, sales growth in hard seltzers went from about 165% in 2020 to around 30% in 2021.
That being said, SunnyD will strike a note with anyone growing up in the 1990s, which might give it an edge over the competition. “SunnyD is a powerful brand, the most boldly unique orange drink on the planet,” Bergenfeld remarked in the press release.
