If you want to sell booze, try putting it in a can.
RTD beverage alcohol volumes have been growing faster than any other major drinks category since 2018, and they are expected to significantly outperform the wider beverage alcohol market over the next five years, doubling their market share in top RTD markets from about 4% in 2020 to 8% by 2025, according to IWSR. Those numbers include hard seltzer, but as that space has become saturated with competition, spirit-based cocktails have provided a path towards more sophisticated and distinctive options, helping to turn the heads of major corporations, distributors and retailers in the process. But even against that backdrop of rapid expansion, significant questions still remain.
How will spirits brands improve and evolve the category with more premium products? What types of spirits are driving adoption in RTDs, and which are losing share? How have recent moves by major strategics like Coca-Cola and Vita Coco reflect the segment’s potential future? How will the tension between established trademarks and disruptive upstarts provide fuel to expand the overall space? And how will inflationary pressures and the looming threat of a recession affect the market’s momentum?
In this episode of Category Close-up, we examine these questions and others with a panel of experts including:
Brandy Rand, Chief Strategy Officer, IWSR
Brandy leads IWSR’s U.S. market across research, marketing, operations and business development as well as regional expansion in the Americas. During her career, Brandy has held strategic consulting positions across media and CPG sectors with a focus on brand-building in a new business environment. She has over 20 years of management experience in the beverage alcohol industry including previous roles at Allied Domecq Spirits & Wines, William Grant & Sons, and Bacardi Limited.
Ferron Salniker, Spirits Correspondent, BevNET
Ferron is a regular contributor to BevNET’s spirits coverage, writing about new innovations, business dynamics, category trends and industry news. She is also an event producer and curator, and produces North America’s pre-eminent Mexican spirits tasting event, Mezcalistas’ Mexico in a Bottle. Her work covering food and culture can be found in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Vice and other publications.
Cara Kamenev, CEO, Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits
An experienced CPG brand builder, Cara currently serves as the CEO of Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits, a premium craft cocktail brand that launched earlier this year. Offering classic RTD cocktails for the modern age, the brand’s founding partners include a roster of influential names in entertainment including Sarah Jessica Parker, John Cena, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rosario Dawson and Playboi Carti. Cara previously served as a Vice President of Brand Engagement for L’Oreal Paris and as head of business development and communications at PVH Corp.
BevNET Insiders also get access to an additional interview on RTD cocktails with Natalie Accari, VP of RTDs and Convenience at Pernod Ricard North America.
To access the complete library of Category Closeup and other BevNET/NOSH shows, visit the video page here .