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A new law takes effect today banning flavored malt beverages from grocery stores. Some call them "alcopops." Now they're only for sale at state liquor stores, but the supply is quickly running out.
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The companies that make products like Mike's Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice have an important decision to make: Should they continue doing business in Utah?
The issue is new labels the state is requiring, not only on the bottles but the packaging too. Take a case of Jack Daniel's Lemonade. It says it's for those who are over 21, but Utah requires it to say it contains alcohol.
Sharon Mackay, spokeswoman for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control(DABC), said, "It became very apparent that many minors were getting these alcopops or flavored malt beverages, and some of them didn't realize they were alcoholic beverages, and certainly their parents didn't realize they were drinking alcoholic beverages."
So the legislature felt switching the product from grocery to state liquor stores and marking them with clear labels was the answer. But these labels are not required in other states. Companies would have to have to print them or put a sticker on the product just to sell in Utah.
"And that's really the dilemma for manufacturers, whether they're going to place their products in our state stores. They need to make a marketing and business decision whether this is cost-effective," Mackay said.
Smirnoff Ice appears to be backing out of the market. A spokesperson tells us, "Thanks to the legislature, Smirnoff Ice is no longer available in Utah. This is a lose-lose for everyone. By effectively killing this segment of the beer category it's not only consumers and retailers who suffer, it is also the state which will lose revenue."
Other companies have agreed to the labels, but the state is still in the process of approving many of them.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
