The Weekly Sip is Food Dive’s column focused on the latest news in the rapidly changing and growing beverage sector. From inaugural product lines to big investments and controversial topics, this column aims to quench the thirst for developments in the category.
Miller High Life bottles the dive bar scent in a perfume
Cracking open a Miller High Life is synonymous with the dive bar experience. The Molson Coors-owned brand is bottling up that nostalgic scent into a perfume for the holidays.
High Life Dive Bar-Fume launched Wednesday for $60 a bottle. It will be available through Friday, Dec. 6 while supplies last. The blend includes smells that mirror the bar top; worn-in barstools; the crisp, refreshing aroma when the bartender cracks open a Miller High Life; and a basket of fries.
“Holiday marketing plays a huge role in helping the brand continue its momentum and finish the year on a high note, while also setting High Life up for a strong start to 2025,” Frank Cirone, senior marketing director of economy brands at Molson Coors, said in an email to Food Dive. “We’re looking to give our fans more reasons to pick up Miller High Life when they celebrate with friends and family.”
Miller High Life has brought that classic dive-bar aesthetic to the holiday season with limited edition holiday items in the past.
Other LTO items include a ready-to-assemble gingerbread bar featuring uniquely Miller High Life details, a battery-powered leg lamp that doubles as a beer tower inspired by High Life’s Girl in the Moon, and 2.5 foot glowing neon tree designed for dive bar lovers.
“Miller High Life brand fans know to look for something special around the holidays and we are always looking for ways to elevate that experience for them year over year,” Cirone said. “High Life Dive Bar-Fume is the next evolution of celebrating the holidays with the High Life by bringing the comfort of the dive bar home for the holidays.”
Molson Coors said Miller High Life is “building momentum into the holiday season.” The brand is seeing “strong sales volume performance” and increasing distribution across the U.S.
— Christopher Doering
Pepsi’s Zero Sugar Gingerbread flavor.
Courtesy of PepsiCo
Pepsi brings gingerbread cookie flavor to a can
PepsiCo is leveraging the power of a limited-time offering with its latest holiday cola flavor.
Pepsi Zero Sugar Gingerbread Mini soda combines the sweet citrusy flavor of Pepsi with tastes of a classic cookie, including brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and molasses notes, the brand said in a statement.
“We’re excited to bring fans a taste of the holidays with this unique twist on a classic cola, with its perfect blend of warm holiday sugars and the zest of ginger,” said Jenny Danzi, the head of brand marketing for Pepsi, in the press release.
The flavor is available exclusively on TikTok Shop with the purchase of two 10-pack cans of Pepsi soda. The company is also conducting a giveaway of the flavor on its website through Dec. 11.
The limited-time launch follows the debut of Pepsi Lime and Peach flavors earlier this year ahead of the summer season. In 2021 ahead of Easter, the brand debuted a collaboration with Peeps candy for marshmallow-flavored Pepsi.
Other soda giants are seeing the value in unique soda varieties only available for a short time in order to drum up hype in their household name brands.
Coca-Cola has leaned heavily into limited-time offering flavors over the last decade. Since 2013, it has rolled out cranberry-flavored variations of Sprite ahead of the holiday season, resulting in the current Winter Spiced Cranberry variation that debuted in 2019. That same year, it also launched Cinnamon flavored Coca-Cola.
— Chris Casey
An Anheuser-Busch Budweiser production facility.
Courtesy of Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch boosts manufacturing spend
Bud Light brewer Anheuser-Busch continues to add to its roughly $2 billion in facility upgrades in recent years with a $10 million investment in its Jacksonville, Florida brewery.
The investment includes upgrades to manufacturing equipment for beer production and plant infrastructure.
“Anheuser-Busch’s investments in its facilities, including our brewery here in Jacksonville, ensures that we are able to continue showing up locally as an employer and community partner while brewing at the highest quality and efficiency standards,” said Craig Tomeo, senior general manager of the Jacksonville brewery.
The company behind Michelob Ultra and Budweiser operates over 120 plants in the U.S. The upgrades follow other investments to the company’s manufacturing facilities announced this year, including $16 million each spent on breweries in Houston and Los Angeles.
AB InBev, the parent company of Anheuser-Busch, is also aiming to cut costs by shuttering some facilities that are less profitable, such as a Massachusetts distribution facility that closed this fall.
— Chris Casey
