At a time when hard seltzers are the hottest beverage alcohol around—and spirits are slowly chipping away at servings once strongly held by beer—what’s a brewery to do? Businesses across the country have spent the past two years diversifying what used to be beer-only portfolios to best address the changing attitudes and tastes of drinkers.
That’s recently led to a wave of American breweries entering an emerging space of RTDs—or “ready-to-drink” beverages. If you’re a regular at a grocery store like Whole Foods, you’ve likely seen non-alcoholic versions of these products—something like a skinny can of High Brew Coffee—which are part of one of the fastest-growing segments in food and beverage. When it comes to boozy versions of RTDs, the U.S. market is most commonly seeing new category additions in the form of canned cocktails.
These RTDs are exactly what you’d imagine: 12oz, toned-down versions of popular mixed drinks like Dark 'N' Stormys, Gin & Tonics, and other simple cocktails you might order at a bar. The alcohol strength is never as intense as what you’d find during a night out, with these packaged versions typically ranging in ABV from 5% up to 9% or so—not much beyond what drinkers would expect from a favorite Pale Ale or IPA.
What we’ve ended up with is an ideal combination of factors that should be helpful to breweries seeking new customers, or looking to entice current ones to stick within their portfolios. When people are drinking different kinds of alcoholic beverages in more ways than ever, the chance to combine aspects of brewing knowledge and opportunity has opened up additional streams of revenue for companies facing the fiercest competition they’ve ever had.
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