Four Loko teases a hard seltzer with almost triple the alcohol content of White Claw as booze makers battle to win over 'bros'
- Four Loko appeared to announce on social media that it is launching its own hard seltzer.
- The Four Loko Seltzer is labeled the "hardest seltzer in the universe," with 14% alcohol by volume - almost triple the ABV of hard-seltzer industry leader White Claw.
- PBR and Natural Light also rolled out hard seltzers with higher alcohol content this week.
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Four Loko appears to be entering the battle to become the drink of choice for the modern "bro" with a new hard seltzer.
On Tuesday, Four Loko posted images on Twitter and Instagram showing "Four Loko Seltzer."
The image of the Four Loko Seltzer is labeled the "hardest seltzer in the universe," with 14% alcohol by volume. For comparison, White Claw has an ABV of 5%.
"Hard Seltzers ran so we could fly," the caption reads.
The hard-seltzer business is booming, with sales increasing by more than 200% over the last year, according to Nielsen. Over the Fourth of July weekend, the drink was the top-growing segment in the beer category.
Hard-seltzer loving bros have been crucial to the beverage's success, Business Insider's Bethany Biron reports.
"Throw a dart at my fraternity composite, and you'll find a guy who's into hard seltzer," a college junior and fraternity member told Biron.
Read more: 'Claw is the law': Why American 'bros' suddenly can't get enough of White Claw hard seltzer
White Claw - owned by the private company Mark Anthony, which also operates Mike's Hard Lemonade - currently dominates, with about 50% of hard-seltzer market share. However, other companies are eager to cash in on bros seeking hard seltzer with higher ABVs, especially as younger drinkers ditch beer.
This week, Natural Light and PBR announced they are rolling out their own hard seltzers. Natural Light's hard seltzer is 6% ABV, while PBR's is 8% ABV.
Four Loko's 14% ABV would be the highest in the increasingly crowded market. Four Loko, owned by Chicago-based alcoholic beverage company Phusion Projects, LLC, did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for further information on the drink.
Four Loko has continued to tweet about the spiked seltzer. The original tweet announcing the drink has been liked more than 60,000 times and retweeted more than 17,000 times. Follow-up tweets have been liked hundreds of times.