Stella Cidre

This is the most logical line extension on the planet, or is it?

Stella Cidre.  A new apple cider beer from Stella ... You know, the brand with the cool glass.

I don't know what to make of it, quite honestly. On the one hand, you've got an iconic mega brand capitalizing on a hot trend ... cider beers are all the rage in the UK and they've been not-so-slowly making their way stateside.

On the other hand, you have an iconic mega brand capitalizing on a trend.  While Stella is hot in and of itself, I wouldn't consider it trendy.  It's more sophisticated and classic than that.

Apple ciders are hot, so why wouldn't you?  But it just feels awful coming from Stella, and I can't really articulate it.  It feels wildly opportunistic, which isn't what Stella is about, at least not to me.  I first thought that Stella was from Italy, and wondered if Italy has apples ... I don't know.  I've since discovered that it's from Belgium ... do they have apples in Belgium?  I don't know!

We were just talking about Stella in my NYU class last weekend ... the students were marveling about the brand's leadership in a very cluttered category.  I guess I expected more.  Not just following a trend but leading one.  Like they did with launching a truly high end sophisticated beer.  Arguably, the first really sophisticated beer.  And they changed their glass to a white wine glass - why wouldn't they keep their signature glass?  Their glass put them on the map, at least from a marketing perspective. 

I honestly don't know what to make of it ... do apples have that much of an impact?

What's your experience?  Jim.