Mixers sit at an odd place in the ever-evolving beverage industry. Last year, sales in mixers fell alongside a rise in adult non-alc sales. In turn, mixer brands have positioned themselves as elevated zero-proof options and cocktail ingredients – some have even tried their luck in the ready-to-drink aisle.
Cheeky Cocktails is one of those premium mixers, now in the midst of a major growth year as the company refines its sales strategy and signs on new investors and advisors such as Suja Juice co-founder Jeff Church.
Launched in 2020 by bar industry veteran, April Wachtel, Cheeky Cocktails offers high-quality, all real-ingredient mixers and syrups that make labor intensive cocktails easier for both bars and consumers. In designing Cheeky’s lineup, Wachtel applied her mixology expertise to complex drink additions like Habanero Hot Honey Syrup and espresso syrup, but also went for broad utility – her collection helps make 28 of the top 50 cocktails in the world.
In the beginning, at-home cocktailing during pandemic lockdowns fueled the business. As market trends shifted, Wachtel gained traction in multiple channels, but was given advice on National Public Radio’s “How I Built This” to narrow her sales strategy and avoid diluting the brand.
She set her sights on the channels with fewer points of educational friction: restaurants, bars and other on-premise operators. Bar essentials such as the espresso syrup, lime and lemon juices, simple syrup and agave syrups are now top sellers depending on the price segment of the account, but where across the board, ready-made cocktail ingredients cut down on time and staffing.
Finding The Right Market Fit
Wachtel envisioned this year with a 100% focus on national on-premise accounts – a strategy that so far has worked as the brand finds velocity at hotel chains and entertainment venues. But as Cheeky Cocktails has leveraged the built-in marketing of those high profile accounts, the demand at retail chains has picked up, forcing an adjustment to now focus 50% on off-premise chains.
“I feel very conflicted about that, because it’s really ineffective to completely pivot your strategy often, but at the same time when the market is telling you something, it’s more about trying to be flexible and understand what insights informed your starting strategy,” Wachtel said.
Cheeky Cocktails should launch across Texas in Spec’s in the next two months, as well as Lee’s Discount Liquor in Nevada, and will test the shelves at Fairway Market and ShopRite this month.
Beyond Alc or Non-Alc
With premiumization driving growth in spirits over the past decade, Wachtel is convinced mixers still have a long runway.
“Mixers have not evolved concurrently to spirits,” she said. “I think that there’s absolutely an appetite and an opportunity there to have beautifully made and beautifully branded products to complement premium spirits, or even mass spirits.”
Cheeky Cocktails also could fit nicely into the burgeoning adult non-alc (ANA) category – her products don’t necessarily offer an alternative, but she has a “vocal base” of sober-curious customers who she expects will need cocktail ingredients to accompany the proliferating number of zero-proof spirits. That also depends on how well the NA spirit segment evolves: NA spirits are still small in their overall contribution to NA dollar sales (5% in 2024) and within that segment, the growth for canned RTD products is much higher than bottle formats.
As Wachtel works to close a $1 million round, with nearly half in the bag, the question she’s faced with from investors these days is where does Cheeky Cocktails fit between “vice or not vice,” bev-alc or ANA?
Her answer is less focused on the trends and more on the evergreen.
“What will never change is that for humans, food and beverages are the center of every celebration or every important moment in our lives,” she said.
The question for Cheeky Cocktails’ endurance is more about how consumers are celebrating, and reaching customers that have a passion for DIY or sharing a creation with someone.
“As I try to make sense of all of this noise coming in at all times about how trends are evolving, I don’t believe people will stop wanting to celebrate together or they’ll stop wanting to cook together, or that RTDs are the drink of choice 100% of the time, ” Watchel said. “It’s really exciting to be able to help people unleash their creativity – and that is completely different than staking a claim about booze or not booze.”