V8 partners on Bloody Mary RTD beverage

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Dive Brief:

• The Campbell’s Company’s V8 beverage is partnering with sparkling cocktail brand Spritz Society on a Bloody Mary Spritz.   

• The limited-time offering is made with white wine, all-natural ingredients inspired by V8’s classic tomato flavor and spices. Each 12-ounce can has 4.5% alcohol by volume, 120 calories and 5 grams of sugar.  

• The Bloody Mary Spritz is the latest product launch for V8 that capitalizes on its popularity by consumers in alcoholic beverages. In October, The Campbell’s Company released a V8 Grillo’s Dill Pickle Bloody Mary Mix through a partnership with Grillo’s Pickles. A few years ago V8 also partnered with Ritual Zero proof on mocktail recipes.

Dive Insight:

The 91-year-old V8 was created in 1933 to bring affordable, vegetable nutrition to more consumers, and was purchased by Campbell’s 15 years later. For much of its history, V8 was known for its iconic red vegetable juice. 

The brand launched V8 Energy in 2011, and it has steadily grown since its launch. Retail sales are up more than 5% during the last year ending Oct 6, according to Circana data provided by Campbell’s. 

The New Jersey company expanded V8 into shelf-stable juice four years later with the introduction of V8 Vegetable and Fruit Juice Beverages.

Still, Mick Beekhuizen, Campbell’s incoming CEO who is currently the president of its $5.3 billion meals and beverages division, said in September that for a while, the company did not prioritize V8 compared to some of its other brands. 

“As we move forward, we have reactivated resources and focus on this very relevant and unique business,” Beekhuizen told analysts. We “continue to look for stepped-up marketing and innovation as we enable V8 to be a solid contributor to our growth going forward.”

The Bloody Mary Spritz capitalizes on the popularity of the cocktail. Nearly 75% of Americans enjoy sipping on the alcoholic offering, according to Campbell’s. The Spritz, which contains wine instead of vodka that is found in a traditional Bloody Mary, provides a different way to enjoy the beverage.

The move to bring V8 into a Bloody Mary Spritz also promotes the versatility and multitude of usage occasions of the beverage, not only as a vegetable drink, but as an ingredient in alcoholic offerings. The ready-to-drink further latches on to the convenience and portability shoppers look for in many of the products they consume.

“Our strategy isn’t so much ‘more’ or ‘less’ alcohol but to show the versatility of our V8 portfolio and tap into opportunities to enjoy our products in new day parts and to reach incremental audiences,” Campbell’s said in an email to Food Dive.