It appears as if the assortment of bizarre drinks has
got another addendum. Today it’swater with alcohol
mixed into. The water comes in 5 flavors which are
fruit flavors. The side information: It has 5% vol alc.

With this strength it can be classified as alcopop beverage as it is as strong as Smirnoff Ice or a classic lager beer. The main problem is that it looks like water, has the taste of fruits and hardly lets the alcohol shine through.

This could lead younger consumers into dependency of alcohol as the drink looks harmless to other viewers’ eyes.

Despite the problem of getting under-18’s drunk it’s also questionable why sparkling water should be mixed with alcohol and then be sold for a quite high price when one could order a good cocktail instead. Okay, hard cocktails are also sold to adults only, so maybe it’s exactly this fact that made White Claw (an US brand) publish a drink that can be bought by 16-years-old customers as well. At least in many european countries, alcopops are available to customers below 18 but above 16 years age as such drinks are identically classified to beer and other mild alcoholic beverages. Some countries in Europe however have already stated to forbid sales of alcopops to under 18 years old teenagers.

In the USA this beverage has already achieved a net growth of 231% on the local market which makes it a highly profitable business for White Claw in general.

Interesting is that this beverage can be sold to adults with the age 21 and older only. yet the marketing suggests that it is a stylish drink and claims it to be healthier than conventional cocktails and alcoholic beverages which is not true.

Despite the fact it could be sold to 16/18-year old customers on the european market, White Claw has not yet considered expanding to the european market.