The future is looking bright for Boston Beer’s newest brand: Sun Cruiser.
After a promising test launch in 2024, the line of ready-to-drink vodka lemonades and iced teas has quickly vaulted to become the fourth-largest RTD spirit offering, according to Boston Beer. The Sam Adams brewer has so far tripled distribution and is expecting another banner year in 2026, with double or potentially even triple-digit growth.
“[Sun Cruiser is] showing potential that it could become an iconic brand within our portfolio,” said Erica Taylor, a senior director of marketing at Boston Beer. “It’s been a true success so far but ... I think we still have a lot of opportunity to build the brand.”
Similar to Stateside's Surfside or Anheuser Busch's Skimmers, Sun Cruiser aims to capitalize on growing consumer interest in spirit-forward, canned cocktails that don't contain the bubbles associated with hard seltzers.
Despite early success, Boston Beer is being careful not to move too far, too fast with Sun Cruiser. The brand is still finding its footing and wants to build awareness before turning to new innovation.
“[We] don’t want to confuse the drinker until we’ve had a chance to really establish the brand," Taylor said. “The job is to tell more people about it, that is our biggest opportunity.”
Sun Cruiser is finding more early success in bars, concerts and other on-premise locations than other brands Boston Beer has launched, offering a “good indicator of momentum,” she said. Being away from home provides a low-risk opportunity for consumers to try the product and consuming the beverage during a fun event, often with friends, further builds a positive association.
As the booze giant scales the brand, Boston Beer wants to expand distribution, boost product velocities and educate more consumers — predominantly through brand ambassadors, advertising and sampling — about a product that is not yet on the radar of many drinkers.
Innovation, for now, will focus less on new flavors and instead prioritize pack sizes, including larger ones that consumers can bring to parties and single cans at convenience stores to spur trial.
Success for Sun Cruiser would be a welcome boon for Boston Beer, which also owns Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea and Truly Hard Seltzer.
Similar to its competitors, the company has struggled as consumers turn away from beer in favor of non-alcoholic offerings.
Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard have remained strong, but Truly’s popularity has dipped since its peak during the pandemic. Other innovations such as TeaPot, a cannabis infused tea, and Hard Mtn Dew, part of a partnership with PepsiCo, so far haven’t been enough to meaningfully move the revenue needle.
In October, Boston Beer increased its profit outlook for its fiscal 2025 year as it faces a smaller impact from tariffs. It was the first earnings period for the company since Jim Koch, Boston Beer’s founder and chairman, returned to the CEO post.
As the craft brewer looks to continue to grow sales amid sputtering demand for Boston Beer’s popular brews, it will lean on brands such as Sun Cruiser.
“The beyond beer category share will grow as the drinker is younger and more diverse than traditional beer,” Koch told Wall Street analysts. “Our brands [such as Sun Cruiser] are well-positioned to participate in this growth and our strong innovation culture allows us to move quickly to add to the portfolio as consumer trends evolve.”
