3 brands shaking up the cocktail category this sullltner

Surfside takes hard tea and lemonade to the beach

Hard tea and lemonade brand Surfside is hoping to fill up coolers this summer as it works to grow a national presence.

The brand launched five new flavors ahead of the vacation months: Raspberry Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Black Cherry Lemonade, Raspberry Tea and Green Tea. They join Surfside’s original lineup: Iced Tea, Peach Iced Tea, Half & Half and Lemonade. The drinks contain 100 calories and 2 grams of sugar per can.

Based in Philadelphia, the brand is available direct-to-consumer in its home state of Pennsylvania, and launched in stores nationwide in April. It sold 1.3 million cases of its tea in 2024, according to the brand, while only available in seven states.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for us as our mission from day one has been to build Surfside into a true national brand,” the hard tea maker’s CEO Clement Pappas said in a statement. “The addition of the three new lemonade flavors, two new iced teas and the Lemonade Variety 8-pack were highly requested by our fans and is our way of showing love and appreciation for those who have helped us get here.”

The growth of hard tea comes as canned cocktails that do not contain soda take precedent. While Boston Beer has had major success in the category with Twisted Tea for decades, other entrants in the space have entered with their own canned hard tea products in the past year. This includes Coca-Cola and Molson Coors with Peace Tea, Monster Ener with NastY. Beast and Diageo with Smirnoff tea.