For some, Sep. 6, 2019 was just another day; but for college students…it was their worst nightmare. According to a report from Business Insider, the summertime favorite hard seltzer, White Claw, reported a nation-wide shortage. White Claw has not only attracted the Chads and Brads of fraternity Apple Pie Beta, but also millions of people across the country. According to data from Neilson, CNN states, “Sales of the drink grew 283% to $327.7 million in July compared to the same period last year. Its sales also accounted for nearly 55% of all hard seltzer sales from the week of July 4, a 200% increase since 2018’s Fourth of July sales.” Trevor Wallace, a comedian and YouTuber, grew the trend of drinking White Claws from his video, “*Drinks White Claw Once*.” His video has received over 24 million views on Facebook.
Courtesy: Trevor Wallace YouTube
So, what will college students do without White Claws fully stocked in their fridges? Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. Will Claw enthusiasts finally turn to Ruby Grapefruit in the bottom of their fridge, or dare I say…Truly?
Last week, one unnamed fraternity from Austin, Texas heard of this shocking news and bought over $7,500 of the hard seltzer from an H-E-B supermarket. According to Vice, Aaliyah Trevino, an employee, posted a photo of the frat’s Claw haul and said that they left the store with three entire pallets worth. In a second tweet—which she tagged #whiteclawshortage—she showed their entire plastic-wrapped order. Her tweet sparked controversy regarding underage drinking and has since been deleted.
“We are working around the clock to increase supply given the rapid growth in consumer demand,” Sanjiv Gajiwala, White Claw’s senior vice president of marketing, told CNN Business. “White Claw has accelerated faster than anyone could have predicted.”
According to Janice Williams from Newsweek, Gajiwala couldn’t specify when consumers could expect to see boxes of White Claw’s mélange of flavors filling up store shelves again but noted the hard seltzer producer was “allocating product to our distributor partners to keep all markets in stock the best we can and will continue to do so until we get back to our normal safety stock position.”
Courtesy: Delish
So, if you are a White Claw lover, keep your fingers crossed. Remember to send prayers, good vibes and stay thirsty. You’ll have that fresh sip of Black Cherry before you know it.