The weather is breaking in parts of the U.S., and people are anxious to get outside and meet up. White Claw Hard Seltzer is hoping to capitalize as friends begin to mingle after a year of pandemic lockdowns.
The boozy beverage brand is introducing White Claw Surge, available in blood orange and cranberry flavors, which takes summer sipping to a new level with its 8 percent alcohol content, a 3 percent jump from existing products. John Shea, chief marketing officer at White Claw Hard Seltzer, said the brand was inspired by its consumer base to create the new line of beverages.
"We've got the biggest fanbase, extremely passionate. We don't have to look too far when we're looking for new inspiration on new products," Shea told Cheddar. "They're vocal about it and we've got kind of built-in consumer research just by following social media, so that's where we take our lead."
The brand is also rolling out a line of alcoholic iced teas that will be available in lemon, raspberry, peach, and mango. Those teas, however, will retain the typical 5 percent alcohol content.
With demand for hard seltzer on the rise in the U.S. Shea said the company has already taken steps to make sure there is enough product heading to store shelves by building two "breweries." He said the factories will help the brand remain the leader in the hard seltzer category.
"There's been a big wave into the hard seltzer market. Last year at this time we had about six competitors. Now there's about 170. White Claw's bigger than all of them combined. So our fans have really gotten behind the product and are looking for new innovation, and that's what we're bringing to them," he said.
Shea said the company plans to maintain its position at the top of the hard seltzer category by continuing to listen to its consumers and elevating its offerings with quality products.
"It really starts with the liquid, an amazing, refreshing liquid, and then for White Claw, it's just about pure uncomplicated fun. It's a simple product, light flavors, really refreshing," he noted.
Stocks closed mixed Tuesday, with the Dow hitting a record close, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq remained under pressure as bond yields continue to rise. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 closed lower, just shy of a record high. Nancy Prial, Co-CEO & Senior Portfolio Manager of Essex Investment Management joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's close, market predictions for 2022, and more.
This year - for the first time in five years - store openings might actually top announced store closings. Reports show that we're seeing companies opening up new locations by the dozens, and by the hundreds. The need for customers to touch and feel its' products is only one factor in the equation. John Harmon, senior analyst at Coresight Research, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Harry Yeh, Managing Director at Quantum Fintech Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why his firm has a target estimate of $400,000 for Bitcoin this year.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
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Mark MacDougall, attorney and former prosecutor with the criminal division of the Department of Justice, joined Cheddar to discuss the fraud conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. MacDougall addressed Holmes' stance that what she did was no different than any other Silicon Valley startup's approach to business and how this will shake out for the industry going forward. "I can't imagine it doesn't have some salutary effect on entrepreneurs and people involved in new ventures going forward," he said. Holmes was found guilty on 4 of 11 counts, with each carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison, but MacDougall explained that the lengthy prison sentences were unlikely.
Sports betting is going mainstream in the United States. Dozens of states have legalized it, California is set to do the same this year. Arizona, which legalized sports betting in September, set new national records for gambling in its first months. Daniel Graetzer, CEO of Maximbet, joins Cheddar News to discuss what's next for the booming industry.
A new report from ProPublica and the Washington Post found that Facebook Groups played a major role in the spread of misinformation linked to the January 6 insurrection with more than 650,000 posts claiming that Joe Biden's election victory was illegitimate.
Ford is accelerating production of its highly anticipated electric F-150 Lightning with an expectation to pump out 150,000 vehicles annually to meet surging demand. Kumar Galhotra, Ford president of the Americas and international markets group, joined Cheddar to detail the plan to get more customers behind the wheel and to become the top of the competition in the electric vehicle space. "Within the next 24 months, we will have capacity, globally, to deliver 600,000 battery-electric vehicles per year," he said.
