Molson Coors boosts its investment in Zoa Energy

Dive Brief:

• Molson Coors Beverage Company is expanding its partnership with better-for-you energy drink brand Zoa. Financial terms of the expanded deal were not disclosed, but the increased funds will help Zoa more than double its investment in marketing in 2024, and fuel expanded distribution to international markets, it said.
• According to the beverage giant, the zero-sugar energy drink brand reported over $100 million in sales in 2022, with 138% year-over-year growth.
• The launch will further the beverage giant’s strategy, which began in 2019 when CEO Gavin Hattersley took control of the company, to overhaul its portfolio and expand beyond its beer roots through acquisitions and new product launches in other beverage categories.

Dive Insight:

Molson Coors deepening its ties with Zoa, which it first signed an exclusive distribution deal with in 2021, signals a continued investment in non-beer beverage items, including some outside of the alcohol space.

“This investment is another meaningful step for Molson Coors and our transformation into a total-beverage company,” Michelle St. Jacques, the beverage giant’s chief commercial officer, said in the press release. “ZOA is an incredible brand in a growing category, so we’re fueling it with the right resources to scale and accelerate its results to become a bigger player in the energy space.”

Zoa aims to differentiate itself as a premium offering in the crowded energy drink space with healthier attributes. The energy drink contains natural ingredients like turmeric, vitamins C, D, and B, added electrolytes and amino acids, and caffeine from green tea and unroasted coffee beans.

Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson co-founded Zoa, along with a team of industry veterans from both the fitness and beverage spaces. This year, the brand redesigned its packaging and rolled out two new flavors, Strawberry Watermelon and Cherry Limeade. Zoa has launched seven flavors to date.

Molson Coors — known best for its beer offerings like Coors Light, Miller Light and Blue Moon — has worked to diversify its product portfolio in recent years under the leadership of company veteran Hattersley. Its goal is to meet drinkers at different occasions, following declining beer sales over the past decade as other categories took market share.

After RTD beverages boomed in popularity five years ago, Molson Coors launched vitamin C-enhanced Vizzy Hard Seltzer in 2020, and collaborated with Coca-Cola on Topo Chico Hard Seltzer and Simply Spiked Lemonade. In the nonalcoholic category, the company debuted RTD mocktail brand Roxie earlier this year.

Last month, the beverage brand announced its first brand acquisition in the liquor space, when it bought whiskey producer Blue Run Spirits for an undisclosed amount. Prior to that, the company debuted Barmen 1873 Bourbon, which the company called its first true bourbon drink, earlier this year.