Surfside, a fast-growing line of canned iced tea and vodka cocktails, is getting the summer par-tea started with five new SKUs and a distribution expansion putting the brand in over 40 states, the company announced today.
The Philadelphia-based company is riding high on the hard tea wave: since launching the ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail in 2022, Surfside has grown from a popular Philly cocktail to a brand achieving triple-digit growth, inspiring major players to also look for opportunity in malt tea trade-ups.
The brand is now adding five new flavors – Green Tea + Vodka, Raspberry Tea + Vodka, Raspberry Lemonade + Vodka, Strawberry Lemonade + Vodka, Black Cherry Lemonade + Vodka – as well as a new Lemonade Variety eight-pack.
A family-owned and operated business, Surfside was founded by Philadelphia-born brothers Matt and Bryan Quigley alongside fellow Stateside Vodka founders Clement and Zach Pappas. The vodka distillers found a niche in premium hard tea and lemonade in the Northeast, and last year outpaced other RTDs in its home state according to year-end data in Circana-tracked multi-outlet and convenience channels. Pappas has said offering a spirit-based hard tea and a non-carbonated option has been a differentiator as consumers experience seltzer fatigue.
Last year, Surfside was distributed in 17 states and depleted over 1.3 million cases in volume. California, Texas and Ohio are markets where the founders now see “a lot of potential,” while they will continue to prioritize growth and marketing efforts in key existing markets such as Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida and Maryland.
Stateside’s low-ABV RTDs have gained traction on-premise at venues such as Citzens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, where drinkers are shifting from light beer to Stateside’s hard lemonade, making the cocktail the top spirits-based brand sold at the park in 2023.
This season, the company will continue that strategy via partnerships with the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates. The new expansion also puts the cocktail at over 90 Minor League Baseball parks nationwide.
Fueled by the higher case values of spirits-based RTDs, beer distributors have been better for the Surfside brand in most markets. One exception was the vodka distiller’s distributor in New Jersey, Fedway, which “turned their operations upside down” and dedicated full days of delivery just to Surfside, according to Pappas. The current expansion will take place with a mix of partners including Reyes, Manhattan Beer, and House of LaRose.
In the malt hard tea segment, Twisted Tea has been swarmed by new competitors including AriZona Hard Iced Tea, Monster’s Nasty Beast, FIFCO’s Lipton Hard Iced Tea, New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger and many more. Other spirits-based companies are still popping up with their own versions including Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails and Canteen Spirits founder Brandon Cason’s new venture TEABIRD released just this week.
Surfside, however, has had less spirit-based competitors, although is likely expanding against Boston Beer’s spirits-based, non-carbonated hard tea brand, Sun Cruiser tested in 14 markets (many where Surfside has found success) in March. British brand Berczy’s Peach Tea and Lemon Tea vodka cocktails are also slated to hit the Northeast this Spring with wine and spirits distributor Brescome Barton.