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White Claw says it's 'working around the clock' to increase production of the wildly popular hard seltzer amid complaints of shortages across the US

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White Claw said it's working to keep up with demand. White Claw

  • White Claw is flying off shelves so quickly that its manufacturer is struggling to keep it in stock.
  • "We are working around the clock to increase supply given the rapid growth in consumer demand," Sanjiv Gajiwala, the senior vice president of marketing at White Claw, told Business Insider. "Despite reported shortages, we are excited to report that market share has continued to rise from 55% to 61% in just the past eight weeks."
  • Complaints are piling up on social media from customers who say they can't find White Claw at many stores. The hard-seltzer brand is also facing some complaints from customers who said they bought cases of White Claw containing empty cans.
  • "It doesn't matter how much White Claw we get in — just about any amount of the cases we bring in will be gone in the next couple days," said Josh Giboney, a beer manager in Fort Worth, Texas.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
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White Claw's surging popularity has led to shortages, and in some cases full sellouts, at stores across the US over the past month, according to interviews with beer and liquor stores and customers.

"In a weekend we go through over 100 cases of White Claw's variety pack," Olivia Atkinson, the owner of Montauk Beer and Soda in Montauk, New York, at the eastern tip of Long Island, told Business Insider. "Since we don't have it, that's 100 cases we didn't sell."

White Claw, which has seen triple-digit sales growth in the past year, confirmed to Business Insider that it was behind on production.

"We are working around the clock to increase supply given the rapid growth in consumer demand," Sanjiv Gajiwala, the senior vice president of marketing at White Claw, said in an emailed statement. "In the meantime, we have been allocating product to our distributor partners to keep all markets in stock the best we can and will continue to do so until we get back to our normal safety stock position."

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The company, which is owned by Mark Anthony Brands, the maker of Mike's Hard Lemonade, declined to provide a timeline for when production was expected to meet demand and inventory levels would normalize.

Some stores face White Claw shortages and order limits

In Fort Worth, Texas, Goody Goody Liquor can't keep White Claw in stock for more than a couple of days at a time, according to Josh Giboney, the store's beer manager.

"It doesn't matter how much White Claw we get in — just about any amount of the cases we bring in will be gone in the next couple days," he said in an interview. "The people buying it are getting in early and getting a lot, knowing it will sell out."

The store's distributor has been out of stock of several White Claw flavors recently, he said.

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"They don't have enough at their warehouse to sell to us," he said. "We're putting in orders and they have to write off half of them."

He chalked up the shortages to the drink's wide appeal, saying men and women of all ages were coming into the store and asking for White Claw.

"It's reaching a market of just about everyone," he said.

Ken Wieler, the owner of Richboro Beer and Soda in Richboro, Pennsylvania, said the distributor that supplied his store with White Claw had placed limits on order quantities of the hard seltzer as shortages persisted.

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"They are limiting us to 39 cases per order, when we probably sell 65 cases per week," Wieler said. "It hasn't been complete outages, but we're not getting what we want."

The lack of supply is upsetting some customers.

"The people want answers," Atkinson said. "They want their White Claw."

Read more: 'Claw is the law': Why American 'bros' suddenly can't get enough of White Claw hard seltzer

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Kelsey Felix of Fayettville, Arkansas, told Business Insider she visited three stores Wednesday before she found a variety pack of the hard seltzer.

"I tried a local liquor store first and then I tried a Walmart Neighborhood Market," she said. "I finally found it at a second local liquor store."

Dozens of people have vented their frustration and concern about the shortages on social media, as well, with some calling it a "crisis" and begging local stores to restock White Claw.

White Claw faces some complaints of liquid missing from cans

Separately, the hard-seltzer brand is facing some complaints from customers who said they bought cases of White Claw containing empty cans.

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Emi Driscoll is one of those customers. She told Business Insider that she bought a six-pack of White Claw on August 22 and that two of the six cans were empty.

"Their Twitter account replied to me and said to fill out a contact-us form about it," she said. "I did but never heard back."

The company declined to comment on complaints about the empty cans.

Amid these issues, however, White Claw continues to dominate the fast-growing hard-seltzer market.

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"Despite reported shortages, we are excited to report that market share has continued to rise from 55% to 61% in just the past eight weeks," Gajiwala said, citing data from the research firm IRI.

"This is a really exhilarating time for the White Claw brand," he said. "White Claw has accelerated faster than anyone could have predicted and we are thrilled with the immense brand love we've received from a wide range of consumers."

Here's what people are saying on social media about the shortages.

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