MillerCoors discontinues Zima
MillerCoors LLC announced Monday that it will discontinue the clear malt beverage Zima, introduced by Coors Brewing Co. in 1992, because of "challenging malternative segment sales and declining consumer interest."
Production of Zima ceased Oct. 10 and remaining orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis using available inventory, chief marketing officer Andy England said in an e-mail. The last orders are expected to be filled in December.
The beverage was produced at MillerCoors' breweries in Golden, Colo., and Elkton, Va., spokesman Julian Green said.
The decision was made to reduce "complexity" in the brewer's brand portfolio, allowing it to focus on more preferred brands like Sparks, a malt beverage brand acquired by Miller Brewing Co. of Milwaukee in 2006. MillerCoors, the recently merged operations of Miller and Coors, is asking distributors to replace Zima on store shelves with Sparks and Sparks Plus four-packs and Sparks Light.
MillerCoors is a competitor of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch.
MillerCoors LLC announced Monday that it will discontinue the clear malt beverage Zima, introduced by Coors Brewing Co. in 1992, because of "challenging malternative segment sales and declining consumer interest."
Production of Zima ceased Oct. 10 and remaining orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis using available inventory, chief marketing officer Andy England said in an e-mail. The last orders are expected to be filled in December.
The beverage was produced at MillerCoors' breweries in Golden, Colo., and Elkton, Va., spokesman Julian Green said.
The decision was made to reduce "complexity" in the brewer's brand portfolio, allowing it to focus on more preferred brands like Sparks, a malt beverage brand acquired by Miller Brewing Co. of Milwaukee in 2006. MillerCoors, the recently merged operations of Miller and Coors, is asking distributors to replace Zima on store shelves with Sparks and Sparks Plus four-packs and Sparks Light.
MillerCoors is a competitor of St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch.
