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.
The O.G. celebrity tequila has made its way into canned cocktails. George Clooney’s Casamigos announced today the launch of Casamigos Margaritas, its first ever ready-to-drink product.
Beverage-alcohol’s embrace of flavor and craft beer’s shifting distribution trends were among spotlighted issues during last week’s Beer Marketer’s Insights Spring Conference in Chicago. Leaders from BeatBox Beverages, Boston Beer Company, Atomic Brands, Columbia Distributing and Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) shared where their business and the beer category is heading. Here are a few soundbites from the conference.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) is shaking up its distribution network for its spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brands. The moves are concentrated in California, where A-B told Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) it would move the Cutwater Spirits RTD family to Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS).
It’s not often that the genesis for a canned cocktail is a home-cooked dinner. But for friends Vishal Patel and Parit Pathak, the idea for their ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brand, Junglee, came from their mothers’ cooking.
Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) portfolio in California has shrunk again, as Gallo moves its popular High Noon Sun Sips ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail line to the Reyes Beverage Group.
The origin story of Oregon-based 2 Towns Ciderhouse is very similar to the humble beginnings of many craft brewers: childhood friends with a passion for the craft, and a basement. 15 years later, founders Aaron Sarnoff-Wood and Lee Larsen have grown the company to be the second largest cider brand in grocery nationwide.
SipMARGS, a ready-to-drink (RTD) sparkling margarita brand has revamped its liquid and landed $3 million from new investors, including powerhouse social media influencer Alix Earle.
Crystal Light Vodka Refreshers are rolling out to 10 states this month. A collaboration between Kraft Heinz and Harpoon maker Barrel One Collective, the 3.8% ABV vodka-based seltzer has 77 calories per 12 oz. serving, making it “the lowest-calorie ready-to-drink [RTD] cocktail on the market,” according to a press release.
Sisterhood is powerful, especially for Kelly Gasnik and Jill Burns, founders of Austin Cocktails. The sisters started the spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktail brand in 2012, helping to spearhead the current wave of canned cocktails.
Actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld is the latest celebrity seeking to make a splash in the crowded ready-to-drink cocktail space, announcing today the launch of Angel Margarita in partnership with Jordi Zindel and Rodrigo Hernandez of Premium Beers Group.
Absolut is expanding both its ready-to-drink (RTD) and ready-to-serve (RTS) cocktail lines, announcing several new flavor additions, including an expansion of its co-branded partnership with cranberry giant Ocean Spray.
Spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails are projected to grow at a +6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the U.S. through 2028, according to market research firm IWSR.