Anheuser-Busch Launches 'Energized' Brew

St. Louis -- This month, Anheuser-Busch Inc. debuts nationwide a beer trapped in an energy drink's packaging. The brand is called Tilt. "Consumers are looking for two things: a lot of different flavors and unique choices, [in addition to a beverage] that transitions from their workday to their night out," says Stacey Berg, innovations manager for A-B. Tilt has a raspberry flavor, bright orange color, caffeine, guarana and ginseng that puts the alcoholic beverage in a category all its own, says Berg. Brewed with two-row malt, natural grains, hops, yeast and water, and infused with raspberry flavor, caffeine, guarana and ginseng, Tilt is fermented at cold temperatures to allow the development of natural carbonation as it slowly matures. "It's definitely not an energy drink -- it's absolutely unique," she says. Anheuser-Busch considers Tilt to fit into the emerging flavored, caffeinated malt beverage category.Tilt is not to be confused with B to the E, another flavored beer with caffeine, guarana and ginseng, that A-B launched in October of last year. "B to the E is more routed in beer, it looks like beer, tastes more like beer. It has a light flavoring to it," Berg says.Tilt, however, looks similar to an energy drink can with its small size and brushed metal look, which is a focal point of the P-O-P. "The can is featured prominently in everything -- the background of all materials has that brushed look," she says. "We tied all of the P-O-P materials directly to the can's look."Anheuser-Busch has limited promotion of Tilt to a grassroots program. "We're doing a lot of public relations, and merchandising and P-O-P materials are a big part of it," she says, adding that Anheuser-Busch currently has no plans for television or radio ads.Tilt is primarily being distributed to convenience stores in single-serve cans and four-packs, along with cooler shelf displays, a small countertop bin, cooler stickers and price cards. Martin Paul, Denton, Texas, produced more than 10,000 molded clear plastic cooler door shelves that attach to cooler doors by suction cups. Five, 16-ounce Tilt cans fit into each cooler door shelf. Iowa Rotocast Plastics Inc., Decorah, Iowa, manufactured more than 2,500 molded plastic countertop bins, which have a two-wall thickness with an air pocket for insulation. The countertop bin, designed for placement near the cash register, holds about a dozen cans of Tilt packed in ice. Garlich Printing, St. Louis, produced more than 150,000 cooler stickers, and Cenveo Color Art, St. Louis, produced more than 70,000 price cards. Anheuser-Busch relies on wholesalers to place its P-O-P displays and to sample Tilt in locations where permitted. Wholesalers can customize some of the Tilt P-O-P materials with the sign-making templates provided by Anheuser-Busch. Wholesalers also make decisions about how long the Tilt P-O-P will remain in stores.Berg says merchandising will play a big role in building the Tilt brand. "We really wanted it to be visible in the account because we think it's just such a great package," she says. "Since it's single-serve, these two pieces -- the countertop bin and the cooler door shelf -- are great ways to get that brand visible to the consumer. Merchandising is so important to get people to try Tilt."

Anheuser-Busch Launches 'Energized' Brew

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Topics

Related Images

Business Topic

Company

Market Segment