Brewer scores with Bud Light Lime

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. posted its best summer performance in years thanks to the success of its new Bud Light Lime brand, U.S. beverage industry analysts say.

The key summer figures are in, and the nation's No. 1 brewer, based in St. Louis, saw its sales rise nearly 2 percent in the first three quarters of 2008, attracting new customers thanks to a $35 million marketing push for its lime-flavored extension of Bud Light, Crain's Chicago Business reported Sunday.

Unlike many new beer launches which rob customers from brewers' existing brands, Anheuser estimated 50 percent of Lime drinkers were either new to beer or were buying the new beer in addition to the brands they usually drink.

Bud Light Lime also grabbed 20 percent of its drinkers from competitors such as Miller Chill and Corona, Crain's reported.

"It's (Anheuser's) best performance in years," Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, told the newspaper. "It's a striking success."