StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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READY-TO-DRINK PRODUCTS | CATEGORY UPDATE StateWays | www.stateways.com | July/August 2016 28 years. Long ago the company envisioned the need for a quality, pre-mixed, ready-to- drink cocktail, well before the consumer knew it. "While our winery produces some fantastic varietal wines, we have chosen to expand our distribution nationally, and soon internationally, with our Soleil Mimosa brand," says Sandra Pacheco, national sales director at Southwest Wines. "The RTD product segment has given our winery the opportunity to grow our sales and to establish great relationships with our retailers, distributors and, most importantly, our consumers." Since the introduction of its Soleil Mimosa Classic 750-ml. (fresh orange juice and premium white wine) 25 years ago, Southwest Wines has extended the brand with other popular fresh fruit fl avors like mango, pineapple and pomegranate. "Our marketing and development team researched the popularity of fresh fruit fl a- vors and incorporated those fl avors into our already popular Soleil Mimosa brand," Pacheco says. "In addition, we were one of the very fi rst wine suppliers to introduce a 'wine in a can' package. In 2012, Southwest Wines introduced Soleil Mimosa Mini in a convenient and sustainable 187-ml. aluminum can." Merrilee Kick, president of Southern Champion, agrees that the growth in RTDs has been substantial in the last few years, and that buyers are looking for unique products. "We defi nitely have unique products, funny brand names and quality products—using real juice, real cream, that are kosher and gluten free. All of it takes time and money to make," Kick says. "The consumer wants these and all RTDs at a bargain price. To make all of this happen, it means you have to have a scalable manufacturing line, a team with skills to invent and make a quality product and marketing teams to make it fun." In the last two years, Southern Champion has grown its BuzzBallz port- folio of products to include "Shooterz"—a ready-to-drink shots line with pre- made popular shot fl avors like birthday cake, lemon drop and jalapeno lime. So how do ready-to-drink products match up against fl avored spirits? Eason says consumers reach for RTDs for the sake of convenience. "Many don't know how to make a proper mixed cocktail or don't want to go to the trouble," Eason says. "They are also such a fantastic alternative to beer." In Pacheco's opinion, the RTD category is going to continue to grow and will compete well with the fl avored spirits category. "There will always be consumers who prefer wine over spirits," Pacheco says. "There is room and there are consumers for both wine and spirits RTD categories. Our Soleil Mimosa brand has established demand from traditional wine consum- ers; however, our product mixes well with added wine or spirits. Most impor- tantly, it appeals to the ever-important Millennial generation." Mehra adds that while fl avored vodka, particularly the confectionary fl avors, boomed a few years ago, the category has seen a recent dramatic drop in sales. "Consumers now prefer to blend their own fl avors to make a bar-quality cocktail," Mehra says. "Premium RTD products have a leg-up on fl avored spir- its since they provide convenience and ease of use. In addition, we are seeing a trend of consumers using quality RTDs