Blue Moon’s brand update boosts the craft beer’s mass appeal positioning

Dive Brief:

Blue Moon, a beer brand owned by Molson Coors, unveiled new packaging, which will appear in a marketing campaign next year, meant to accelerate the brand in 2024, per a press release. The brewer also changed the name of its light beer product from Blue Moon LightSky to Blue Moon Light.
The new packaging will hit shelves in February and includes a modernized design that puts a bold Blue Moon banner front and center while creating a more unified look across the brand’s offerings.
Blue Moon will also enter the non-alcoholic craft beverage space with the release of Blue Moon Non-Alcoholic, timed to hit shelves before Dry January, a move that follows volume in the non-alcoholic craft beer space increasing 17% in the past year, per data cited in the release.

Dive Insight:

Blue Moon’s new packaging and non-alcoholic release is indicative of Molson Coors’ larger strategy to make gains on its chief competitor, Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev. The new packaging, the LightSky rebrand and introduction of a non-alcoholic option were designed to provide a sense of unity among Blue Moon products and capitalize on a run of strong results for the brand.

The revamped packing will streamline Blue Moon’s family of brands, including its flagship Blue Moon Belgian White, per the release. The new look will figure into the brewer’s expanded marketing campaign, “Made Brighter,” next year which will be inclusive of new TV and out-of-home ads along with retail tools, per the release. The platform is intended to tie Blue Moon to fun and creativity, according to Courtney Benedict, the company’s vice president for above-premium beer.

The updated packaging marks the first brand refresh for the company since 2019. The new packaging could help the beer better stand out on shelves, which is increasingly important as the craft beer market continues to expand. Panelists in consumer testing around the new packaging indicated that the product is easier to find on shelves and that they would be more likely to buy, according to the release. While overall beer sales were down 3% in 2022, craft beer sales remained steady when compared to the year prior, per data from the Brewers Association.

Additionally, Blue Moon brands off-premise in the last 12 months have grown share of the craft sector every month, Benedict said in the release. The success of the craft beer category likely explains why Molson Coors is making a significant effort to strengthen its portfolio.

“Blue Moon sits in this unique position in above premium, with craft roots and mass appeal at the same time,” said Rose Sokolnik, senior marketing manager for Blue Moon brands, in release details. “In the past few years, we haven’t been telling a unified story, and Blue Moon’s new look brings all the brands together.”

Blue Moon has been a centerpiece of Molson Coors’ marketing strategy in recent months. The beer took center stage of its highly anticipated Super Bowl ad, the first for the brand in over three decades. The aggressive marketing undertaken by Molson Coors comes as rival AB InBev struggled with controversy surrounding one of its core offerings, Bud Light, following a partnership with a transgender influencer earlier this year.