RTD

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.

Mark Anthony Brands is narrowing its focus in 2025, with a “dramatically” simplified portfolio, Mark Anthony Brands president David Barnett shared Monday during Day 2 of Beer Business Daily’s Beer, Wine and Spirits Summit in Palm Beach, Florida.

With the RTD category at peak saturation, retailers and distributors want to know brands can bring incremental consumers.

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.

Patco Brands, the manufacturer of one of the leading wine-based ready-to-drink products and other private label brands, has made a strategic investment in Farfield, California-based Frank-Lin Distillers Products, the companies announced Monday.

In Japan, some of the country’s oldest sake brewers are eagerly awaiting a decision next month on their bid for the rice wine to win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, a commendation reflecting the depth to which the beverage is tied to national pride and tradition. Other ambitious brewers, meanwhile, are just as eager to buck tradition altogether.

Brown-Forman, the leading exporter of U.S. spirits to the world, beat analysts’ expectations in its latest quarterly earnings report, thanks to a jump in demand from its more premium whiskies. But the president and CEO of the Jack Daniels Whiskey maker cautioned that with potential tariffs looming it was facing “so many potential scenarios and unknowns.”

Spirits giant Sazerac manages approximately 500 brands across beer, wine and spirits, yet president and CEO Jake Wenz insists the company is still “focused.”

After 18 months of learning about the U.S. bev-alc market, California-based hard kombucha brand Mate Maker is ready to expand its portfolio and its distribution, and wants consumers to come along for the ride.

Ready-to-drink cocktails are now allowed at more retailers and restaurants in Pennsylvania, but that doesn’t mean drinkers in the Keystone State are cracking open an array of canned cocktails.

It’s been almost two years since Bluebird Hardwater launched, and as one of the first canned beverages combining spirits with flat mineral water, it’s now in good company.

Ready-to-drink (RTD) mimosa and sangria producer Ohza has been acquired by FX Matt, the companies announced today. The acquisition brings a wine-based offering to FX Matt’s growing stable of RTD and beyond beer brands, which includes McKenzie’s Hard Cider, ‘Merican Mule spirits-based RTDs and Right Coast Spirits vodka- and tequila-based RTDs.

The Coca-Cola Company is expanding its reach in bev-alc with another ready-to-drink canned cocktail (RTD).

Across oversaturated retail shelves, bev-alc brands are under pressure to stand out.

In premium spirits and canned cocktails, brands have learned that calling out unique ingredients and connecting to audiences through their own cultural stories is key to positioning. They’re also balancing bolder looks with conveying brand values, health benefits and taste without over-messaging. Many have gone back to the drawing board, honing their brand prepositions and packaging.