479: Beyond the pint glass–Learnings from creating the new Molson Coors Non-Alcohol portfolio – with Marlon Hernandez

Product management insights from Molson Coors’s non-alcohol portfolio transformation I am interviewing speakers at my favorite annual conference for product managers, the PDMA Inspire Innovation Conference. This discussion is with Marlon Hernandez, whose session is titled “Beyond the pint glass: Learnings from creating the new Molson Coors Non-Alcohol portfolio.” After over 233 years of brewing beer, Molson Coors announced its name change to Molson Coors Beverage Company to reflect its growing focus on beverages outside the traditional beer offers. A successful market entry strategy in the non-alcohol space was one of the critical pillars of the transformational journey into a beverage company. Marlon will share with us the process of defining, shaping, and building this new portfolio and how the PDMA body of knowledge helped him during this process. Marlon has held different innovation roles at the Molson Coors Beverage Company, including heading the newly established non-alcohol beverages division at its early stages. Also, this episode is sponsored by PDMA, the Product Development and Management Association. PDMA is a global community of professional members whose skills, expertise, and experience power the most recognized and respected innovative companies in the world. PDMA is also the longest-running professional association for product managers, leaders, and innovators, having started in 1976 and contributing research and knowledge to our discipline for nearly 50 years. I have enjoyed being a member of PDMA for more than a decade, finding their resources and network very valuable. Learn more about them at PDMA.org. Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [3:33] Why did Molson Coors want to create a portfolio of non-alcohol beverages? Molson Coors has been brewing beer since 1786 with the Molson family in Canada. Adolf Coors starting brewing beers in Colorado in 1873, even before Colorado became a state in 1876. Beer will continue to be a critical part of our portfolio. Right now, consumers are changing their behavior. They prefer a larger variety of beverage choices. At Molson Coors, we’re a consumer-centric organization. In 2019, we recognized that we needed to expand beyond beer and changed our name to Molson Coors Beverage Company. That was driven by the evolution of our consumers and our distributors. More than 60% of beverages consumed in the US are non-alcoholic, and some of our distributors already had started having products other than beer. The intersection of these factors triggered the creation of the non-alcohol portfolio, which I had the pleasure of leading. [5:15] What did market research show about why consumers were switching to non-alcoholic beverages? A combination of multiple factors triggered this change in behavior. In 2008, the Boomer generation reached an age at which their preference for beer declined somewhat. The new generation of drinkers is more aware of what they’re drinking and more conscious of calories and nutrition. Some consumers love the taste of beer but don’t want to have alcohol at some moments. That triggered the creation of non-alcohol beer options. Other consumers are looking to energize. The energy drink is one of the fastest growing segments in the beverage category. We want to continue building our portfolio in the direction the consumer is going. Molson Coors recently launched Blue Moon non-alcohol. People love the taste of Blue Moon, but sometimes they want to enjoy the taste without the alcohol. We want to ensure consumers have options to enjoy every moment of their lives. [9:06] How did you plan and structure your portfolio? Even though beer and non-alcoholic drinks seem to be in the same category, there are different consumer behaviors, regulations,