Gives lowdown on brand to BBD.
As Miller Brewing Company’s national rollout of Miller Chill nears completion, company CMO Randy Ransom sat down with Beer Business Daily to discuss the new brand’s performance.
Here are some highlights from the two-part conversation about Miller Chill, a light beer that’s brewed with a hint of lime and salt and inspired by the Mexican chelada.
On the potential seasonality of the brand:
"Look at the Bud Lights, Coors Lights, Miller Lites of the world; it’s surprising to me that they don’t have a higher seasonality curve than they do. We’re assuming it might have a little more of a seasonality curve than those, but there’s no reason to expect it to be a tremendous variation. We’ll have to wait and see."
On sources of volume:
"I would say a good 30 to 40% of the incremental volume is coming from outside the beer category. Within the beer category, we’re getting most of the volume coming from A-B brands, and we’re seeing that Miller Lite is not being affected to any great degree. It’s actually being affected less than we expected in those markets."
On Miller Chill’s higher price point, which positions it in the growing “worthmore” light category:
"One is that it makes people understand that it’s a better beer. And consumers are willing to pay more for their beer. The pricing is not slowing this brand down at all. But it adds a lot of value from an image standpoint to the brand because it does happen to have more to it than a lot of the brands that are sitting on that side of the shelf."
The latest issue of Brew Magazine, which focuses on the state of innovation in the beer industry, took a close look at the development of Miller Chill.
From the issue:
"Miller Chill was born out of the Miller new product development group’s drive to create a beer that would offer “a new kind of refreshment”.
"The group sought to capitalize on the growing popularity of flavors – a trend that holds across all types of beverages – and the continuing growth of light beer.
"After experimenting with a variety of concepts, the group found consumers responded most favorably to a beer with lime flavoring. The most popular concept was inspired by the Mexican chelada, a Mexican beer recipe that calls for lime juice and salt.
"It was a potentially powerful concept. It was refreshing and light. It fit in with the trading-up trend. Its taste profile could draw new consumers to the segment. And it also played into the growing Latinization of American culture, driven by demographic trends as well as the mainstreaming of Mexican culture (think Chipotle).
"Strategically, it fit in with Miller’s effort to increase its participation in the worthmore category. Miller believes the brand has broad enough appeal to move at mainstream velocity with above-premium pricing.
Perhaps the most challenging – and the most time-consuming – part of the project was developing the recipe. That required the brewery creating an entirely new beer that was low in calories and carbs. Then, it had to strike the right balance of flavors.
“Miller Chill utilizes a unique low calorie, low carbohydrate recipe specifically to complement the Chelada style concept,” says Dr. David Ryder, vice president of brewing, research & quality at Miller. “The recipe lends itself to the light/refreshing concept complemented by the lime top note.”
"It took at least six iterations before they hit the right combination, he says.
"The team also developed packaging that communicated the brand attributes. The green bottle signals it’s a premium product. And the beer shot and light green and yellow colors on the packs drive the refreshment message."
The entire issue can be seen here.
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The Beer Business Daily coverage can be seen here and here (subscription required).
