The José Maria da Fonseca, a Portuguese wine company with almost 200 years of history, decided to invest in a new category of alcoholic beverages: the hard seltzer (carbonated waters with alcohol), reports the Portuguese Revista de Vinhos wine magazine.
Created in 2020 by two former biotechnology students, Maia Pedro and Rui Santos, SELZA, a 100% Portuguese hard seltzer brand, will be distributed by José Maria da Fonseca Distribuição.
“The hard seltzer beverage category has had huge success in the US and other countries. In the US alone, hard seltzers have already stolen 10% of the market share from beers. After meeting Maia and Rui, we realized that SELZA has great growth potential in our country, and we decided to invest with a stake. Our commitment to this new category of alcoholic beverages, as a family business, follows the path we have been following in recent years, always in favor of innovation, rejuvenation and expansion of our portfolio, in order to conquer new audiences”, says António Maria Soares Franco, administrator of José Maria da Fonseca with the Commercial and Marketing department.
“The entry of José Maria da Fonseca in the capital of SELZA is, for us, a great pride. When we decided to bet on the hard seltzer, after a trip to the US in 2018, we were sure that this category would succeed in our country. It was a matter of time. Now with José Maria da Fonseca’s know-how in the commercialization and distribution of alcoholic beverages, the future can only be successful. Hard seltzers are starting to emerge in Portugal and, in terms of sales, we expect this category of alcoholic beverages to reach a market share of between 5% and 8% in our country in the future”, state Maia Pedro and Rui Santos, creators of SELZA.
SELZA is a carbonated water with alcohol, which coexists with beers and ciders, but with some differences: it has little alcohol (5% vol.), little sugar (1.5 g of cane sugar), it is only produced with natural ingredients and, in addition to being gluten-free, is also vegan.
This hard seltzer is presented in a 250ml can, not only because it is a more sustainable option, but also because it is a “ready-to-drink” format, which can be enjoyed directly from the can in moments of socializing. With a natural fruit flavor, SELZA is available in Mango and Lime-Mint flavors.
“The new generations of consumers are very concerned about environmental and health and well-being issues and, with this bet, we want to contribute to moments of guilt-free, healthier and more positive interactions, without compromising taste or quality ”, says António Maria Soares Franco.
SELZA is, for now, available at Glovo, Auchan, Dott, Uber Eats, Bolt Food, at SELZA’s online store https://www.selza.io/comprar/ and at José Maria da Fonseca’s online store – https: //jmf.pt/shop/ .
Photo: DR Photos
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