MillerCoors has an idea to reach Hispanic drinkers. Meet Zumbida.
Hispanics make up a growing share of the U.S. drinking age population. MillerCoors is betting they would like some alcohol and fruit juice.

The traditional Mexican fruit drink aguas frescas. (Mexico/Vimeo)
Big beer brands like MillerCoorsĀ are being forced to think about how to reach the growing number of Hispanic alcoholĀ drinkers in the U.S.
Hispanics are expected to go from 15 to 25 percentĀ of the legal drinking age population between 2015 and 2045, according to a report from the Chicago-based research firm Technomic Inc.
AB InBev, Budweiser’s parent company, has been importing Mexican beer brands it already owns, like Montejo and Estrella Jalisco, into the U.S., but MillerCoors doesn’t own any Mexican beer.
So what’s MillerCoors’ plan for reaching that growing market? Add alcoholĀ to a traditional Mexican drink and put Spanish phrases on the packaging.
MillerCoors plans to addĀ “un toque de piquete” ā a touch of alcohol ā to the traditionalĀ Mexican fruit drink aguasĀ frescas. Ad Age reported about the new product last week.
In March, MillerCoors received labelingĀ approval from the federal government for the product it’s callingĀ Zumbida. The company didn’t immediately return an inquiry from Denverite about when Zumbida will hit shelves.
Zumbida would be on par with the average light beer with 4.2 percent alcohol by volume, a MillerCoors spokesperson told Ad Age.
MillerCoors is co-owned by SABMiller and Denver-based Molson Coors Brewing Co.Ā Molson Coors Brewing is set to gain more control over MillerCoors’ U.S. operationsĀ as SABMiller merges with AB InBev.
AB InBev introduced consumers to Budlight Lima-A-Ritas in 2012. But Zumbida will be MillerCoors’ first drink inspired from a Mexican beverage.
Subscribe to Denveriteās newsletterĀ here.Ā Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email atĀ agarcia@denverite.comĀ orĀ twitter.com/adriandgarcia.