Coors spent $50M launching Zima — America made it a punchline and it was gone in 15 years

In 1993, Coors launched Zima Clearmalt with $50 million in first-year marketing — one of the largest beverage launches in American history. The clear, lightly carbonated malt beverage was positioned as 'Zomething different,' an alternative to beer for people who did not like the taste of beer. Part of the 1990s 'clear craze' alongside Crystal Pepsi, Zima initially succeeded: nearly half of American alcohol drinkers tried it, and sales peaked at 1.2 million barrels in 1994.

The decline was cultural, not operational. Zima acquired a 'girly-man' reputation among American men. David Letterman mocked it relentlessly on late-night television. The brand became a punchline — something you drank only if you were not a real man. Coors tried to fix this with Zima Gold, an amber variant promising a 'taste of bourbon,' in 1995. It disappeared within the year.

Sales declined steadily through the 2000s. On 20 October 2008 MillerCoors told distributors that production had stopped as of the 10th; chief marketing officer Andy England put it down to weakness in the "malternative" segment and declining consumer interest. Distributors were asked to fill the shelf space with Sparks instead. A product that had spent $50 million to launch and reached 1.2 million barrels at its peak ended as a line item cut in a merger.