Hot off rumors of a potential exit, sparkling water maker Spindrift debuted its latest flavor innovation this week: the Cosnopolitan.
From the name, you can likely guess what’s in the can – a zero-proof cranberry and citrus seltzer that tees up a Sex and the City joke like it’s Little League for culture writers – and it’s another notch in the belt for the mainstream breakout of the NA sober curious trend.
The Cosmo isn’t Spindrift’s first attempt at reframing its juicy sparkling waters as a mocktail (it added the Nojito in late 2022) but it does reflect the company doubling down on its efforts to become a brand for adult drinking occasions; and we’d include its actually boozy Spindrift Spiked line, which has been fighting to win stake in the hard seltzer set, as part of that strategy.
But Spindrift is just one of many emerging brands trying to extend its platform into mocktails without actually extending its platform in the traditional ways, like new sub-brands or specialty lines.
Look at NA beer producer Athletic Brewing Co. which also introduced a “cocktail-inspired series” this week of “near beer” brews, available in Moscow Mule and Paloma flavors. For a brand that’s already capturing consumers looking for alcohol alternatives, it does make sense to try and reach cocktail lovers alongside beer fans given that all types of hard drinkers are trying out softer options.
We can’t say this all comes as too much of a shock (and no, not just because Dry January is coming up either). In recent years we’ve witnessed brands like Recess find success by pivoting from their initial focus and embracing the mocktail positioning: CEO Ben Witte said on stage at BevNET Live last week that the brand’s mocktails are now the majority of its business. But the main reason behind its ability to extend into the space has been its north star of being relaxation in a can… so going from one relaxation pitch (vaguely cannabis-related CBD drinks) to another was a linear move.
Spindrift has already shown it can succeed via flavor innovation – its long been one of the fastest growing sparkling water brands in the category, up 21.7% for the 52-weeks ending Sept. 21 according to NielsenIQ – and they seem confident in their ability to further branch into classic cocktail territory. Plus, mining the Cocktail Codex gives it some much needed new territory for innovation – they’ve already got most of the fruits you’d want to actually drink in their portfolio.
But chalk this up as another sign that brands see NA as the future, or one possible future, and Spindrift is showing how you can meet that trend without big multi-SKU line launches, but via simple flavor innovation.