TRENDING
THE FUTURE IS READY TO DRINK NEXT TIME YOU’RE DOING YOUR TESCO ORDER ONLINE, TAKE A LOOK AT THE MASSIVE SELECTION OF READY TO DRINK (RTD) COCKTAILS RANGING IN PRICE FROM 70P TO £4.00. IF THERE IS ANY TIME TO BE THINKING ABOUT PUTTING YOUR SPIRIT IN A CAN, IT’S NOW. VELO MITROVICH REPORTS
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AUTUMN 2022
I
f you’re like many of us, when you
cocktails, using rum, tequila, vodka, gin,
want to spot a trend, you take a
and whiskey spirits, with the majority of its
quick look at what’s happening
range found in vodka and tequila drinks.
across the Pond for it will soon be here. Does this always work?
This is truly becoming a global trend
As much as we hate to admit it, it does
with producers, for example, going after
seems to for a good portion of the time.
specific ethnic markets.
Craft beer, tap rooms, and food trucks were – and continue to be – big business
Korean American Grace Choi says that
in the States. It took a while here before
she always knew she wanted to start a
brewers caught on, but there is no
brand which celebrated her heritage.
looking back. And indeed, some would
While she had numerous ideas, it struck
say our brewers have yet to realise the
her that what she liked doing most was
full potential of creating a complete craft
to spend time with family and friends,
beer experience for their customers.
and drinking the Korean national spirit, soju. By cold-calling canneries, she finally
That said, other trends such as putting
found one that was ready to take her
pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, allspice,
canned soju cocktail line, Jumo, from
and ginger) into everything from whisky
concept to reality.
to Starbucks will never have the same
Carol Pak, who has started Sool canned
appeal here as in the States where,
soju cocktails, says that while working
embarrassingly for the human race, the
for ZV Ventures, the innovation arm of
first Starbucks pumpkin pie spice lattes
Anheuser-Busch InBev, she realised that
of the season are reported as news.
there would be a huge global shift in the beverage environment and she wanted
While RTD cocktails have been around
to be part of it.
since the 1960s in the States, they never made much of a dent in sales until 2019
According to NielsenIQ, the RTD
when, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic,
segment saw a massive 40 percent
people around the world abandoned
increase in sales and its biggest growth
pubs, bars, and restaurants, and instead
in shares of sales year-on-year by a
started mixing and pouring cocktails
staggering 416 percent in 2020. NielsenIQ
at home. Consumers quickly realised
says that this growth continued in 2021 –
that it was a whole lot easier opening a
now past pandemic shut-downs – with
can than creating a home bar, and spirit
continued triple-digit growth. This isn’t
manufacturers were happy to oblige.
happening just in the States but is global,
“Canned cocktails are a convenient and
and it’s only going to get bigger thanks to
quality solution for cocktail lovers,” says
Coca-Cola and Jack Daniels teaming up
Earl Kight, the co-founder and chief sales
to put Jack & Coke into a can.
and marketing officer for San Diego’s Cutwater Spirits. “No ingredients, no prep
While it’s easy to say that Covid brought
or clean-up. They offer controlled ABVs
about this growth, the continued growth
and consistently taste delicious.”
has happened because manufactures
Cutwater first started making spirits in the
have considerably upped their game with
back of its brewery. Now, besides having
natural flavours premium spirits. In talking
a full range of spirits, it has nearly 30 RTD
with some London bartenders, they can
DISTILLERS JOURNAL
