Pernod Ricard USA has invested in its first-ever canning line for ready-to-drink (RTD) products, aimed to accelerate growth in the burgeoning category.
The $22 million investment will add canning capabilities to the company’s plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which already produces several Pernod Ricard spirits, including Kahlua Coffee Liqueur and Seagram’s Gin. The company’s current RTD portfolio includes Jameson Ginger & Lime, Malibu Pineapple Bay Breeze, Absolut Berry Vodkarita and TX Whiskey & Cola.
The new line will make Pernod Ricard’s popular spirit brands more “accessible”, the company said in a statement.
“This investment is an incredible step in strengthening our manufacturing footprint in Fort Smith,” said Pierre Joncourt, senior vice president of Pernod Ricard North America. “The high-speed canning line will be instrumental in increasing our production capabilities and swiftly bringing our premium, bar-quality RTDs to market.”
The plant has also recently added eight new 50,000-gallon tanks to assist with production.
“Volume has only continued to increase for our Fort Smith facility and the spirits industry overall,” said Jennifer Anglin, senior operations director for the plant. “This latest canning line expansion will not only allow us to produce various spirits across our brand portfolio, but more importantly, it will create numerous jobs to keep up with demand.”
The investment will add at least 50 jobs to the staff of 220, including bottling, processing and warehouse area positions to help with the expansion.
The spirits and wine company is not the only large conglomerate to increase canning capabilities this year. In March, Diageo North America opened a 225,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Plainfield, Illinois, expanding the company’s production capacity by more than 25 million cases. The $110 million project included the installation of two new high-speed canning lines to support production of both malt- and spirit-based RTDs.
RTDs are projected to be the fastest growing alcohol category over the next five years, and the category value is expected to increase by an additional $11.6 billion, according to drinks data company the IWSR. While tequila and vodka are the leading RTD spirit bases, whisky-based RTDs are registering the fastest growth.
Pernod Ricard also recently announced it was boosting its agave portfolio with the acquisition of George Strait’s Codigo 1530 Tequila.
The world’s second-largest spirits and wine company reported consolidated sales of €3,308 million (nearly $4 million USD), with organic growth of 11% in the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year, which began in July. In its 2022 fiscal year, net sales grew 17% organically to surpass $10 billion, with all spirit categories recording double-digit growth led by Jameson, Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Absolut and Martell.