Dive Brief:
- Heineken USA is discontinuing its tequila-flavored beer, Desperados, in the U.S., which had launched in the U.S. in 2014.
- The brand debuted in Florida and Georgia with potential nationwide distribution plans for 2015. However, its distribution remained focused regionally, mainly in the Southeast.
- Global production and distribution of Desperados will continue in its international markets, and Heineken has hired We Are Pi to lead communications for the brand.
Dive Insight:
"We're shifting our focus to continue amplifying our four priority brands of Heineken/Heineken Light, Dos Equis, Strongbow & Tecate," a Heineken USA spokesman told Ad Age. "Desperados is a great brand that's growing globally, but domestically, we want to remain laser focused on those four."
Barrel-aged beer is becoming more popular, especially among craft brewers, as the flavors of whichever wine or spirit was originally aged in the barrel is imparted on the beer. Tequila casks are one option that is interesting brewers, and some take the next step to even add tequila or tequila flavors to the beverage itself, as Heineken did with Desperados.
But Heineken hasn't been the only major company to adopt this trend, as Anheuser-Busch InBev released its own tequila-flavored beer, Oculto, about a year ago.