Shaken, stirred or canned? Why consumers are gravitating towards RTD cocktails

Ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages have taken off in the last few years. From canned cocktails to spiked seltzers, these pre-mixed drinks appeal to consumers seeking convenience, portability and flavor consistency. Driven by shifting consumer preferences toward low-effort, on-the-go options, RTD alcoholic beverages have become a staple at social gatherings in the US. 

This trend has attracted attention from major alcohol brands and craft producers alike, all racing to be a part of the category’s growth. 

With so much activity in the space, we wanted to look more closely at RTD cocktails specifically. What brands and flavors are consumers gravitating to? What makes them choose a canned cocktail over a traditional cocktail? Let’s dig in! 

1. Consumers are drawn to the convenience of canned cocktails: Canned cocktails offer the same familiar and loved flavors of prepared cocktails, with added convenience and portability. While prepared cocktails are consumed more often at bars and restaurants than at home, RTD cocktails are consumed more often at home. 

2. Flavors are critical: Consumers are drawn to the familiar cocktails they already know, particularly fruity ones like strawberry, pineapple, coconut, orange, cherry and peach. Vodka, tequila and rum are preferred spirits over whiskey and gin — although anything that feels refreshing and light is appealing. 

3. Standing out is a challenge: There’s already a lot of competition in this category. And because the familiar flavors of traditional cocktails are a big reason to purchase, it can be difficult to establish distinctiveness. Can one canned mojito or margarita be that much different than another? Familiar, trusted brands have a leg up on smaller brands because they stand out due to their brand recognition, but packaging is another way to stand out. 

To better understand the appeal of RTD alcoholic beverages, we asked respondents what types of alcohol they like to drink at home vs. when out at a bar or restaurant. 

People say they consume all types of alcohol more at home than at a bar or restaurant — with the notable exception of prepared cocktails. More people claim to drink prepared cocktails out (43%) than at home (37%). 

Preparing cocktails can be labor intensive and intimidating if you don’t have bartender experience, so it makes sense that people might prefer to leave that to the professionals. 

This difference clearly illustrates one of the key reasons RTD cocktails are growing in popularity: They make cocktail consumption at home much easier. Because while 21% of people say they drink RTD cocktails in a bar or restaurant, many more (39%) drink them at home. 

We also asked about the common reasons people choose RTD cocktails, and unsurprisingly “no preparation needed” was the top reason (63%). As one respondent in our study said about the Bacardi Mojito, “I like mojitos in the summer but can only get them by ordering from a bartender and having the person make the drink. I like that it is pre-made.”

Taste, portability and flavor variety were also top reasons. 

To understand more about what’s working for existing RTD cocktail brands, we looked at 13 RTD cocktails: 

• Clawtails by White Claw - Strawberry Cosmo

• Malibu - Piña Colada 

• Bacardi - Mojito

• Dogfish Head Cocktails - Rum Mai Tai

• South Side - The Original Gin Cocktail

• Surfside - Iced Tea + Vodka

• Austin Cocktails - Ruby Red

• St. Agrestis - Negroni

• Cutwater - Vodka Mule

• Jack Daniel’s - Downhome Punch

• Straightaway - Paloma

• Slow & Low - Rock and Rye Original Old-Fashioned

• Tip Top - Margarita

In our ScreenIt solution we asked respondents to rank the cocktails according to which they would be most likely to purchase.

Malibu Piña Colada emerged as the top-ranked cocktail, securing the highest number of first-choice rankings (38%). Jack Daniels Downhome Punch received the second-highest first-choice rankings (35%), while Bacardi Mojito and Clawtails by White Claw Strawberry Cosmo tied for third with 29%. 

Slow & Low Rock and Rye Original Old-Fashioned, South Side Original Gin Cocktail and St Agrestis Negroni ranked on the bottom with single digit first-choice rankings. 

This does make sense when you consider that South Side Original Gin Cocktail and St Agrestis Negroni both contain gin, and gin is the least preferred spirit for RTD cocktails. 

Additionally, all the well-known alcohol brands came out toward the top of the rankings — which is a trend we tend to see across categories. Consumers are more willing to try unfamiliar products from familiar brands as opposed to unfamiliar products from unfamiliar brands. 

Also worth noting: We’re particularly impressed with Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka coming in immediately after all the most well-known alcohol brands. The brand launched only three years ago and it’s one of the fastest growing alcohol brands in the US right now. It must have pretty good brand awareness already to score so high in our rankings. 

Digging a little deeper, let’s take a look at the attributes most associated with the brands. These are the products that scored highest across key category attributes:

• Most “refreshing”: Malibu (48%)

  • Runner up: Surfside (44%)

• Most “great tasting”: Malibu (46%)

  • Runner up: Clawtails (42%)

• Most “fun”: Clawtails (38%)

  • Runner up: Bacardi (37%)

• Most “unique”: St Agrestis (35%)

  • Runner up: Straightaway (30%)

• Most “great for winding down / relaxing”: Cutwater (32%)

  • Runner up: Surfside (32%)

• Most “great for hosting”: Malibu (32%)

  • Runner up: Clawtails (27%)

• Most “authentic”: Tip Top (24%)

  • Runner up: Malibu (22%)

• Most “innovative”: Straightaway (23%)

  • Runner up: Slow & Low (19%)

Malibu came out on top in many of these categories, taking the top spot in two and runner-up spot in two more. 

We’re pleased to see that newbie Clawtails by White Claw won for “fun,” plus runner-up in another two categories. And Surfside got runner-up for “refreshing” and “great for winding down.”

And while St Agrestis came in at the bottom of our overall ranking, it was the clear winner for “unique” — which makes sense when you see how the packaging stands out compared to the rest of the category. 

Next we scored each product a number out of five for each of these metrics, based on our survey feedback: 

• Advantage: How much better each of the products is to other products already available 

• Distinctiveness: How different each of the products are from other products already available

• Relevance: How relevant each of the products is to the respondents

• Believability: How believable the claims of each product are to the respondents

We compared each of these numbers against the average score for the group of 13 RTD cocktails. 

Three of the top ranking cocktails (Malibu, Jack Daniels and Clawtails by White Claw) surpassed the group average in advantage, relevance and believability — though they only scored in line with the average in distinctiveness. 

Interestingly, two of the products that ranked toward the bottom of the pack overall (Slow & Low and St. Agrestis) are the only cocktails to surpass the average in distinctiveness.  

Judging from the top attributes we looked at earlier, respondents saw St Agrestis as “unique” and Slow & Low as “innovative” — so it makes sense that they would both score well in distinctiveness. 

Overall flavor, refreshment, and lightness, along with the convenience of being a ready-to-drink cocktail and familiarity with the brand, are the main drivers behind purchasing the products we analyzed.

Last but not least, the visual appeal — particularly the colorful and eye-catching packaging — also plays a significant role in influencing purchase decisions.

Fruity flavors 

The most important factor for choosing a cocktail from the RTD category is that the drink is flavorful. Consumers prefer something familiar and fruity, such as strawberry, pineapple, coconut, orange, cherry and peach.

People said things like: 

• “I like that it combines with a minty flavor and with fresh lime and it’s gluten-free and there’s no artificial flavors in it.”

• “The peach cherry and orange sound delicious.”

• “The choice of flavors is what appeals to me the most and cherry and orange are both flavors I like.”

• “I love Pina coladas. And a touch of coconut in this drink would make this heaven!”

Refreshing

Many comments from respondents mention how refreshing, light and summer-appropriate the drinks sound. These products are appealing for casual drinking, especially in warm weather.

People said things like: 

• “I like Bacardi rum and to have mint in it it just sounds refreshing.”

• “I absolutely love the Pina Colada flavor. I would also expect this to be light and refreshing.”

• “I like the flavors. I like that it's made with real fruit juice. I like that it's light and refreshing.”

Trusted brands

The next important factor is familiarity with the brand. 

Brand recognition and trust add appeal. Familiarity with the brand leads to confidence in flavor and quality.

People said things like: 

• “I am familiar with this brand and hold the products to my favor.”

• “Pina colada is a classic, and I know Malibu is a good brand.”

• “I like rum and trust the Bacardi brand.”

Attractive packaging

Visually appealing packaging has also a strong influence on purchase interest. 

An attractive can or bottle design draws attention and reinforces flavor cues. 

People said things like: 

• “It’s a very appealing can and the design is really nice. Also pina colada is refreshing.”

• “Packaging looks clean and ingredients appear fresh.”

• “The grapefruit and tequila sounded very refreshing. The can is appealing as well.”

• “The very colorful colors of the can. It is a refreshing green color.”

• “I like the container of the can. It is refreshing to the eyes. Colorful and such.”

We’ve got a shopping list going with all the RTD cocktails we need to try this summer after doing this research! 

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