Super Lyte, a vodka-infused, sports-drink inspired refresher, from the makers of Surfside, has depleted 120,000 cases in its first five weeks in the market, with a forecast to hit 1.5 million cases this year.
Molson Coors has struck a deal to acquire spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail pioneer Atomic Brands, whose Monaco Cocktails entered the then-nascent space in 2012. The deal should come as no surprise, as it aligns with Molson Coors’ goals to expand its beyond beer portfolio, part of the Horizon 2030 plan CEO Rahul Goyal outlined earlier this year.
Blake’s Beverage Co. is looking to be a leader in not just hard cider, but all “fruit-forward fourth category innovation,” founder and CEO Andrew Blake told Brewbound.
Cristian Molina built the flavors for Hugo’s Cocktails with the premise that his 20 years of bartending put him more in touch with trends than a focus group.
The time is right for founders of scaled ready-to-drink (RTD) brands to consider exits with the emergence of a “classic seller’s market,” Arlington Capital Advisors managing director Townsend Ziebold declared earlier this month at the Beer Marketer’s Insights business conference.
Most founders build to scale, but Adam Kost, founder of ready-to-drink brand Dirty Shirley, built to prove. In a saturated market, Dirty Shirley was structured from day one as a market-validation project that was lean, disciplined, design-led and deliberately positioned for an early strategic exit – which it got.
Brown-Forman and Sazerac are doubling down on ready-to-drink (RTD) with brand extensions and new-to-world brands launching today.
Ten Ohio intoxicating hemp businesses can resume sales after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the state “from taking any criminal, civil, administrative, or regulatory enforcement action” against them through June 29 (so long as they stay within the parameters of the 2018 Farm Bill).
Sam Calagione is in a creative groove. The Dogfish Head co-founder is on the verge of releasing a collaboration full-proof whiskey in collaboration with Rolling Stone magazine. He recently wrote a column for the magazine on the 1976 overlap of punk, hip-hop and craft beer. And his 31-year-old craft brewery finished Q1 up, still trucking behind its Grateful Dead collaboration beers and spirits-based canned cocktails.
Ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand Carbliss is open to potential acquirers, co-founder Adam Kroener made clear Wednesday at Beer Marketer’s Insights spring meeting. “Everything’s for sale,” Kroener said during a panel conversation that included SpikedAde co-founder and CEO Jason Cohen and Happy Dad co-founder and CEO Sam Shahidi.
Can the skinny spritz become a bar call like the skinny margarita? One brand is betting on it.
Sazerac-owned BuzzBallz is the dominant brand in the RTD segment. BuzzBallz’ dollar sales increased 65.6%, to more than $569.3 million, in Circana-tracked off-premise retailers for the 52-week period ending April 19.
While off-premise bev-alc scans have been on a rollercoaster this year (one with admittedly mild drops compared to 2025), the on-premise has been more steady, trending between flat and up 1% over the last few months.
Ready-to-drink hard lemonade has surged to $1.5 billion in sales, but new styles are squeezing out the segment’s mainstays.
This month’s distribution moves see Carbliss push into two major new markets, Mark Anthony’s Canadian ready-to-drink (RTD) tequila cocktail expand in the U.S., and ShakeUp transitions to a beer house.
West Coast rappers and business moguls Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg are expanding their ready-to-drink (RTD) line into hard tea and lemonade.
The ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail from Hip-Hop duo Run The Jewels has closed a $2 million seed round.
