Back when I was reconfiguring Cadbury Schweppes’ cocktail mixer portfolio, I put a concept in front of the Schweppes team that I still think is one of the best ideas I’ve ever pitched: Schweppes Fizzions. A light, ready-to-drink, alcohol-included sparkling cocktail — pure effervescence, real fruit flavor, built for anytime you needed what we called “an effervescent lift.”
They passed.
In 2016, White Claw launched. Hard seltzer is now a $14 billion category. I didn’t have the timing right. I had the idea right.
I bring this up now because Schweppes just relaunched — and they’ve made a choice that tells you everything about how hard it is for an institution to actually change.
