MillerCoors is moving faster, taking more risks and rethinking its approach to innovation, executives said last week in Tampa.
One way it’s doing this: going beyond beer with offerings that will reel in new legal-age drinkers and keep others from defecting into wine and spirits.
The company this week unveiled a canned wine spritzer called Movo that it plans to test in select markets. It's the first of what could be several new products the brewer will bring to market this year.
“You either innovate or you die,” said Sofia Colucci, vice president of innovations for MillerCoors. “We recognize that we have not done enough. We need to do more and we are going faster, taking risks and listening to our distributors because they know the business better than anyone.”
Movo is a 100-calorie wine spritzer made with real wine, natural ingredients and no sugar added. The 5.5 percent alcohol-by-volume drinks will launch in three flavors, Raspberry Rosé, Peach White Blend and Blood Orange Sangria, and hit test markets in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Vancouver, Wash., next month.
Packaged in colorful, 8.4-ounce slim cans, Movo “is a differentiated, great tasting and better-for-you wine spritzer. It’s a kick-ass brand that’s great for occasions where beer and (flavored malt beverages) play,” Colucci said. Movo will be available as singles and as four packs in each flavor as well as a variety four-pack.
Movo is another step in the company’s efforts to “push farther into white spaces” with accelerated “launch-and-learns,” Colucci said. It joins another MillerCoors innovation, Cape Line, a line of sparkling cocktails that’s set to debut April 1. The company also plans to "launch at least four other new items" in 2019, she said.
“What we’re recognizing is that we have to take much bolder actions to improve the speed and scale of our innovation pipeline" Colucci said. "We know we need to do a lot more in innovation, and we are doing just that.”