With friends around me and my vision blurred, I grabbed one more and continued on with the good times, every time. That’s how it goes with Natural Light, otherwise known as Natty Light.
Some love it, some detest it, and some don’t even remember nights spent slugging it down. For those who don’t follow the company, they’ve recently expanded their product line and I’m all for it!
Natty Light: Brief History
Natty Light was first introduced in the late 1970s (so yes, your parents may have been drinking this in college too) as a lower calorie lager from Anheuser-Busch.
It was originally created as their first widely distributed light beer. With the introduction of Bud Light (also an Anheuser-Busch beer) in the ’80s, two products in the same market place weren’t needed for one company.
Anheuser-Busch decided to market Natty Light as a lower cost beer, and it has been a hit for college students ever since.
After years of being known for their cheap beer and college appeal, they have introduced new products to reach new consumers.
In the ’90s, they introduced “Natural Ice,” a heavier beer with higher alcohol content (5.9% ABV vs Natty Light’s 4.2%). In the early 2010s, they introduced “Natty Daddy,” a beer available in 16 or 24-ounce cans (compared to the normal 12) with even higher alcohol content (8.0%).
Introducing three different products, all flavored more or less the same for forty years, is not exactly exciting. But in the past few years, Natty Light has introduced several new drinks, all keeping up with the newest trends.
Natty Light: Mouth-Watering Additions
Naturdays
2019 brought us “Naturdays.” This drink just represents everything I think beer should be. A great name, unique style, attractive design — and most importantly — still cheap.
Naturdays are half strawberry and half lemonade lager. It is a great drink for any warm-weather outdoor drinking occasion. The beer can even has flamingos on it! The company took advantage of consumers increasing usage of strawberry and lemonade to make a great beer for day drinking.
The marketing of this product is great. From their website’s page for Naturdays:
“For those who like strawberry lemonade…and drinking beer. Sit back and relax, it’s Naturday!”
Hard Seltzer
Another big trend in the alcohol industry has been the explosive growth of hard seltzers. The two biggest names in the market, White Claw and Truly, accounted for 85 percent of the hard seltzer market.
Many other companies have recently introduced their own hard seltzer to get in on this cash cow. And you guessed it, Natural Light is one of them. Most companies name their seltzer whatever the flavor is, e.g., Black Cherry or Mango. Natty Light takes naming to a new level.
“Aloha Beaches”, House Rules”, and “Catalina Lime Mixer.” All original and playful names.
They also make their seltzers with two flavors while most only make their product with one. Natural Lights seltzer show they are a fun and creative alcohol company, not handcuffed by industry norms.
Natty Daddy Lemonade
Their magnum opus: Natty Daddy Lemonade. This June they introduced a hard lemonade. It’s so new some stores don’t even have it yet. (Trust me, I tried two liquor stores and left empty-handed.)
Similar to the original Natty Daddy, it has a high ABV so you only need a few of these and you’ll feel its kick. The jury is still out on this product but I think it is a great addition for them.
A New Generation of Natty Laddies
Some may look down on Natty Light for being a cheap beer. But I, and I’m sure many others appreciate the ability to have a good time and save money. Now I get the chance to do so while enjoying these creative new flavors.
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In my college days (back in the 80’s) we never had the luxury of the 8 percent stuff. My buddies and I would drink Mickey’s Malt Liquor in the green “hand grenade” bottles. A few of those usually would put us all under the table.