Athletic Brewing collaborates with Walker Hayes for new nonalcoholic beer

Dive Brief:

• Country music artist Walker Hayes has partnered with nonalcoholic craft beer maker Athletic Brewing Company on a signature nonalcoholic beverage named for one of his hit songs, “Fancy Like,” according to a press release.
• Prior to the new brew officially going on sale April 25, Athletic Brewing on Wednesday launched a presale, offering the first 1,000 customers the opportunity to receive a red stemmed party cup with the purchase.
• Fancy Like will be sold at select retail outlets in 25 states and on the Athletic Brewing website, per the release.

Dive Insight:

As collaborator and partner in the brand, Hayes was also named Athletic Brewing’s “chief fancy officer.”

The Grammy-nominated artist will be promoting the new beer on Athletic Brewing’s social media pages as well as on his Same Drunk Tour that kicks off at the end of May. Athletic Brewing’s products will be sold at the merch tables on Hayes’ tour, and the brand will have an activation at the iHeartCountry Festival as well, according to Athletic Brewing’s communications manager, Chris Furnari. 

“Joining Athletic Brewing as chief fancy officer and helping craft my very own non-alcoholic beer has been a dream come true,” Hayes said in a statement. “Fancy Like is an all-American brew made for pilsner lovers. It’s crisp, clean, and as traditional as they come.”

The country song “Fancy Like” was released by Hayes in 2021. It’s mention in the song of Applebee’s restaurant turned into a commercial for the chain.

Launched in 2018, Athletic Brewing is the number one nonalcoholic beer brand in the U.S., capturing over 18% market share and posting dollar sales growth nearing 70%, according to Nielsen data cited by the company.

The no- and low-alcohol beverage space has been growing recently. The category in 2022 surpassed $11 billion globally and is forecast to post a compound annual growth rate topping 7% through 2026, according to data from IWSR.

In an industry where it often takes years for a new brand to make inroads at retail, Athletic has carved out a sizable share of a market that is still in its infancy.

“Athletic Brewing has spent the last 6 years building relationships with retailers across the U.S.,” Furnari said. “We are now sold in over 50,000 off-premise retail stores and over 25,000 on-premise locations, which is still just a fraction of the total potential retail accounts where our brews could be sold. When you’re trying to disrupt established categories with an innovative new product, it can take years to show up on store shelves in a meaningful way.”