THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 20, 1995 TAG: 9507200375
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MICHELE SNIPE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Jack Daniel's has a new address.
Until July 1, drinkers could only find J.D. at Alcoholic Beverage Control stores. But now, drinks such as Lynchburg Lemonade, Watermelon Spike, Tennessee Tea and other mixers made with Jack Daniel's bourbon can be found on supermarket shelves across the state.
Under a new law, low-alcohol beverage coolers, as they are called, can be sold in supermarkets and convenience stores that have wine and mixed-beverage licenses. The law says the drinks may contain as much as 7.5 percent alcohol and should be consumed off store premises, says Robert Chapman of the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.
The drinks are marketed toward ``people who choose to drink responsibly and want lower alcohol,'' particularly the 21 to 35 age group, says Jimmy Rogers Jr., vice president of Associated Distributors in Chesapeake.
Jack Daniel's is not the only cooler to move into supermarkets. A line by T.G.I. Friday's restaurant chain, Smirnoff and Jose Cuervo also are hitting shelves.
Annie Hall of Hampton says she's tried Smirnoff's XXX on the Beach and liked it. ``Now that I know they're in the market I might buy some,'' she says.
Wrapped in light-colored packaging to tantalize younger consumers like Hall, Smirnoff coolers are advertised as ``Singles.'' Other flavors include Electric Lemonade, Pink Lemon Drop and Long Island Ice Tea.
The Jack Daniel's coolers maintain their conservative black-and- white look, while the T.G.I. Friday's brand goes all out using splashes of pastel on their boxes and in their drinks. In all, there are 16 flavors available and each comes in a four-pack.
The new ``coolers'' aren't really new. The drinks were sold in ABC stores for quite afew years, but the new law defines these products as wine, says ABC spokesman Craig Vanderland. Anything containing less than 15 percent alcohol is now considered wine and can be sold in stores.
Although there has been no advertising and the coolers have just recently arrived, ``sales have been brisk in higher volume stores,'' says Ricky Green, director of consumer affairs and public relations at Farm Fresh.
He says Farm Fresh wants to see how well the product sells without advertising before it determines a marketing strategy.
In the four weeks the coolers have been on Farm Fresh shelves sales have been steady.
``They're selling about the same as normal (wine) coolers,'' he says. But no one flavor or brand is being snatched up faster than the others, he says.
Cases, however, are flying at distribution companies, where the number of salesmen has been increased and deliveries have jumped. Associated Distributors purchased more trucks.
Not all of Hampton Roads' more than 180 grocery stores and 500 convenience stores are carrying low-alcohol coolers. Food Lion doesn't have them, but expects to in the next couple of weeks.
Distributors have seen profits, but they have been offset by hiring more manpower and increasing deliveries, says David Rufnak, general sales manager at Associated.
So far, the law has done what it was intended to do - increase revenue for the state, he says.
The issue in the General Assembly was lost profit by ABC stores without the coolers. So, distributors agreed to pay revenue on the first 180,000 cases, which is the quantity that was distributed to the government stores last year.
The state collected $330,000 in revenue from the coolers last year. Rogers expects to hit this in three or four months rather than a year.
``We're on our way to exceeding expectations,'' he says. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Jack Daniels
by CNB