Dive Brief:
- Polar Beverages is releasing three new mythical mystery flavors of seltzer, and bringing back fan favorite “Unicorn Kisses” from last spring’s limited release, according to Western Mass News. The new flavors are “Mermaid Songs,” “Dragon Whispers,” and “Yeti Mischief.”
- These new flavors are part of the company’s “Impossibly Good Polar Seltzer” project. “The new Polar Seltzer JR assortment is made to chill consumers and leverage the unmet demand for sparkle and happiness,” a company statement says.
- The seltzers are sold in six packs of the company’s "junior" 8-ounce cans and are calorie free. The beverages include the origin of the actual water on the packaging, but there is no information about the flavors.
Dive Insight:
Polar Beverages is jumping on board the unicorn-themed beverage train again and brining some new mythical friends along for the ride.
Last spring, the beverage company released only 5,000 cases of the Unicorn Kisses flavor, which quickly sold out. As cases of the seltzer disappeared from store shelves, people started selling their supplies online for upwards of $100. Executives took notice, and doubled down with this new launch of mystery flavors.
The Massachusetts company released the new seltzers on Tuesday, and fans hit stores in droves to purchase cases of the limited-edition drinks. It appears that having no idea what flavor seltzer they were buying wasn't a deterrent.
The concept of merging seltzer with unicorns takes advantage of two strong industry trends right now. Sales of the fizzy beverage have soared 29% in the five years ending in 2013 and are still on the rise. Meanwhile, popularity of unicorn-themed food is soaring on Instagram and other social media sites. To clarify, “unicorn food” is any item decorated with swirls of dye, a dusting of colorful sugar or adorned with cute accessories, like pastel marshmallows or even a confection unicorn horn. Food bloggers aren’t the only ones committed to this trend. In April, Starbucks offered “Unicorn Frappuccinos” for a limited time.
It is interesting that Polar Beverages clearly labels where the seltzer water is sourced from, but offers no information of the flavor. A recent study shows that almost everyone finds transparency important in food products. Seventy percent said their purchases are always or often influenced by transparency content. It would seem that knowing the water they’re purchasing came from the Cape Cod coastline is more important than knowing what it will taste like.
Keeping a flavor a mystery is no foreign concept in the grocery store. Candy manufacturer Just Born has a tradition of releasing three mystery flavors of Peeps each spring before Easter, and fans have fun guessing what they are.