Red Hot Bud Light Lime Cran-Brrr-Rita Holiday Sales Spur On-Shelf Extension

From tech to fashion, the holiday season is ripe for turning limited-edition products into highly sought after sellouts, but rarely does such success make its way into the beer aisle. One exception this year is Bud Light Lime Cran-Brrr-Rita, a limited-edition winter offering introduced in November that combines the taste of a cranberry margarita with a splash of Bud Light Lime.

Initially intended to come and go along with the major holidays, demand for Cran-Brrr-Rita has led to stock shortages across the country as merrymakers look for the perfect cocktail-alternative to serve this season. In fact, Cran-Brrr-Rita has been so popular that Anheuser-Busch announced today they are extending its availability through the end of January.

To help promote the new Rita flavor during the key holiday selling season, Bud Light Lime enlisted Philadelphia-based Poptent to have its network of freelance videographers compete to create a video juxtaposing the stress of the holidays with the stress-free enjoyment of drinking a Cran-Brr-Rita. The winning spot, “Holidays Are Hard, Ritas Are Easy,” was released on November 27 via Bud Light social media channels.  You can view the spot here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54b86RqKQmo

The success of Bud Light Lime Cran-Brrr-Rita highlights the strength of the Bud Light Lime Ritas. Straw-Ber-Rita, which debuted in March 2013, is the largest share gainer in the beer industry this year, and Straw-Ber-Rita and Lime-A-Rita represent the No. 1 and No. 2 brands in the FMB category*.  Combined the Ritas are larger than the category's next eight brands*.

*Source: Symphony IRI, YTD