It’s hard to pinpoint a single person responsible for the wild success of High Noon Hard Seltzer. After all, there’s not an individual creator credited by parent company E. & J. Gallo Winery. It has marketing partnerships, but that’s nothing unique. Even sugar-based hard seltzers that came before it—White Claw, Truly, and others—set the stage for the vodka-based version. What is it that’s taken High Noon to the moon?
2021 was a breakthrough year for High Noon and spirit-based seltzers in general, but the doors got blown off in 2022—mostly because of High Noon, which represents 75% of the segment’s sales. In chain retail, spirit seltzers have earned the most growth of any liquor segment, poised to add up to 65% volume in 2022. High Noon will outpace that, increasing sales by about 70%. In short: This brand has been one of the most important and valuable in beverage alcohol over the past year.
Assigning credit for all that can’t easily be placed on one person, but the most public and engaged voice for this breakout brand has been Britt West—the vice president and general manager of spirits at Gallo. Promoting High Noon at trade events and in media, West has become the go-to face of this unicorn. “If we meet our projections this year, High Noon will be the largest spirits brand in the industry,” he aspirationally said in early 2022. By volume, High Noon sells more than tequila in chain retail stores, this year’s other big moving category in spirits.
So, while it’s not clear who brought High Noon into the world, its importance in beverage alcohol can’t be ignored. Ready-to-drink cocktails like High Noon have stolen attention from beer and hard seltzer, while earning a permanent spot at bars as an easily presentable and accessible cocktail option. High Noon even has its own dedicated community of superfans, known as “Nooners.”
West’s voice has become synonymous with High Noon as the portfolio’s primary storyteller. The vodka soda—which will soon have a tequila-based version—has helped establish alcohol’s “fourth category” beyond traditional beer, wine, and spirits. Customers have pushed High Noon to the top of the charts, and in 2022, West gets credit as the frontman of this runaway success.
Words,Bryan Roth