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Jump into your JNCOs and put on your Starter jacket because Zima is coming back baby! The overly sweet malt beverage from the 1990s is returning this summer after a bodacious demand last year.
In 1993, then-Coors Brewing Company wanted to create an alternative to beer. They created Zima, a carbonated clearmalt citrus-flavored alcoholic beverage. It was an instant success and at its peak sold 1.3 million barrels in 1994. Zima was retired back in 2008, but in 2017 MillerCoors brought back the Crystal Pepsi equivalent of booze and offered a limited-time release last summer. The consumers were bout-it, bout-it and thought it was all that and a bag of chips. Two thirds of inventory sold out within the first four weeks and the entire limited supply of Zima sold out in only two months.
“We brought it back last year with the intent of folks buying a six-pack, but people bought it by the case last year,” Dilini Fernando, the MillerCoors senior marketing manager for innovation, said in a MillerCoors blog post. “And when they found it out we made a limited amount, they stocked up.”
“The enthusiasm from drinkers and, especially, retailers has been off the charts,” Fernando says. “They’ve been asking for it to come back, and (major chain retailers) all ordered more than last year and committed to floor displays. They’re really supporting the brand.”
To accommodate the demand, MillerCoors will make 20% more Zima for 2018’s limited release. Zima’s re-release campaign goes old school and reignites fears of the scariest thing from 1999 — Y2K. Zima’s “Z2K” campaign styles itself after the worldwide panic that gripped the world because people were afraid what would happen to computers when the date switched from 1999 to 2000. So for all you homeskillets looking to get crunk this summer with some nostalgia, Zima is already in stores while supplies last. Jolt Cola had a similar resurgence last year as well because all things old are new.
[VinePair]