Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/705687
www.beveragedynamics.com July/August 2016• Beverage Dynamics 35 Kevin Mehra, president and co-founder of Latitude Beverage Company, explains that sangria has seen double-digit growth in recent years, with the top four brands growing 43 percent be- tween 2010 and 2013. Mija Sangria, in particular, has seen triple digit hypergrowth in the past year. "Our first and only RTD innovation is Mija Sangria, a pre- mium bottled craft sangria made with domestic dry red wine and 100% real, unfiltered fruit juice," Mehra says. "Utilizing new and innovative flip top re-sealable packaging, Mija was created to provide consumers with immediate and convenient access to sangria that has the same quality, aroma and flavor typically found in homemade sangria." Latitude Beverage Company has just released a new canned wine brand called Lila Wines. It's the first-ever Provence Rosé, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Italian Pinot Grigio available in cans, which are designed with bright, pop art-inspired labels. "The brand makes premium wine more accessible to con- sumers, where a typical glass bottle would not be convenient," Mehra says. According to John Eason, co-founder of Luchador Margarita Mix & Luchador Ready to Drink Margarita, while the category shows some growth, the margarita business within it is strong. "The margarita is still king of the cocktail and tequila is more popular than ever," Eason says. "Other major spirit brands are also entering the category as a means to create line extensions and keep visibility and trial on their brands. There are also new entries in packaging, such as bag-in-the-box and cans. With the resurgence of the cocktail culture, it's also interesting to see how many craft cocktails there are in RTD form now." Eason and his team launched the Luchador Margarita Mix roughly nine months ago through a strategic partnership with Prairie Creek Beverages, led by industry veteran Mike Howard. "It's been very successful despite having to change distributors mid-stream," Eason says. "We will bring the Luchador RTD Mar- garita to the market in July. The iconic packaging was developed by the same design team responsible for Deep Eddy Vodka." Southwest Wines has produced Soleil Mimosa Classic (for- merly branded St. Clair Mimosa), a pre-mixed Mimosa, for over 25 years. Long ago the company envisioned the need for a quality, pre-mixed, ready-to-drink cocktail, well before the consumer knew it. "There are also new entries in packaging, such as bag-in-the-box and cans. With the resurgence of the cocktail culture, it's also interesting to see how many craft cocktails there are in RTD form now." —John Eason, co-founder of Luchador Margarita Mix & Luchador Ready to Drink Margarita