Sightlines: Cross-Category Insights You Can Use June 2025
Each month, consumer insights platform Sightlines will share one quick hit you can use to make confident decisions. Remember, ACA members get 50% off a Sightlines subscription. Find the discount code in the Resource Hub.
Going Fizz-Free is Gaining New Audiences—and Cider Can Meet the Need
When drinkers reach for a packaged beverage, it’s most likely carbonated, with at least half of Americans drinking a carbonated soft drink daily. But that’s been changing, and in recent years, a growing number of beverage alcohol brands have explicitly asserted themselves as fizz-free alternatives: Brands like MolsonCoors’ Happy Thursday Spiked Refresher and Surfside Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka have made their lack of bubbles a core selling point, while NOCA Beverages (short for “no carbonation”) has made it an entire brand ethos. And one of the country’s largest RTD brands—Twisted Tea—has long won with drinkers who feel that a lack of bubbles allows them to enjoy multiple servings more easily. Carbonation can lead to feelings of bloating and fullness for some drinkers, and new, fizz-free brands help those people enjoy the pace and freedom of a lighter beverage.
Still cider is nothing new, but it’s traditionally put into a higher-end wine context and struggles to gain traction in more casual settings. But among young consumers reaching for canned cocktails and malt beverages, there’s rising interest in non-carbonated drinks, showing how different categories are working against different expectations. Beverages with lower or no carbonation also often have the advantage of not needing as much flavor to meet consumer desires (carbonation can sometimes dissipate flavor impact) and opens up serving opportunities, such as pouring over ice.
As you consider the positioning of your product—whether a traditional cider, modern craft, a flavor-driven RTD brand, or non-alc alternative to beer or wine, etc.—how you think about carbonation could be as important as “dry” or “gluten-free” or apple varietal for the consumer you’re seeking—perhaps even more so.