The company behind leading ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail High Noon is launching a new contender: VMC, a tequila-based canned cocktail born from a partnership between world champion boxer Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, Spirit of Gallo, and Casa Lumbre, the company announced.
VMC is set to release next month.
With tequila and premixed cocktails two of the three categories leading spirits growth, Spirit of Gallo has already aimed to capture a piece of the market with its High Noon tequila SKUs released earlier this year. Now, it’s making a play for a specific demographic by distributing a canned cocktail from one of Mexico’s most innovative spirit companies and a sports superstar.
VMC, which was launched in Mexico in 2022, stands for Viva Mexico Cabrones, a typical exclamation of pride and celebration of Mexico. The three flavors — Jamaica Hibiscus Cocktail, Paloma, and Margarita — are aimed primarily at the Mexican audience in the U.S., with an initial release planned for select markets with large Mexican-American populations.
VMC’s website lists that it’s coming soon to California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Nevada. The Hispanic population is the second largest in America, as well as the fastest-growing demographic, and Mexicans represent 62% of Hispanics in the U.S.
“Tequila is not only Mexico’s spirit of choice but is also the third-largest and fastest-growing major spirit category in the U.S.,” said Britt West, senior vice president and general manager of Spirit of Gallo. “Pre-mixed cocktails and flavored alcohol beverages are driving growth in the market, each up 14%. So, consumers are looking for canned cocktails and full-flavor styles, but until now there hasn’t been an authentic Mexican offering in this category.”
Casa Lumbre has mainstreamed Mexican products into the U.S. market with a boost from several other major partnerships and celebrities. Pernod-Ricard announced a partnership with Lenny Kravitz-backed sotol Nocheluna last year, the latest in its partnerships with the company’s other spirits, Abasolo Ancestral Corn Whisky and Ojo de Tigre Mezcal. In 2019, Campari acquired a majority stake in Casa Lumbre’s Montelobos Mezcal and Ancho Reyes liqueur for $35.7 million. Separately, Casa Lumbre also recently launched a premium cristalino mezcal, Contraluz, in partnership with Colombian singer Maluma.
But VMC is the company’s first to partner with a Mexican celebrity: Known by the nickname Canelo (cinnamon) because of his red hair, Álvarez is a Mexican professional boxer who has won world championships in four different weight divisions, and is the first Latino boxer to be undisputed champion since the four governing bodies were established in boxing.
The 5.5% ABV cocktails lean on Mexican iconography, packaged in gold-accented cans emblazoned with an eagle standing atop a piña (the heart of the agave plant) among the agave fields of Jalisco.
For Spirit of Gallo, distributing the U.S. release follows several big moves furthering the wine giant’s expansion into RTDs. In June, E. & J. Gallo acquired Bev, a Los Angeles-based canned wine and spritz brand, following Spirit of Gallo’s acquisition in May of RTD canned cocktail Fishers Island Lemonade. Its flagship RTD High Noon led sales in the prepared cocktails category off-premise channels, up +46.8% for two-weeks, with volumes up +37.6%, and the tequila seltzer variety pack is at the heels of its vodka variety packs.
Vodka and tequila bases dominate RTD cocktail sales, with cocktail types like the margarita growing. Dollar sales growth continued for the overall spirit-based RTD category, up +40.2% in the latest two-week period, versus +42.3% for the four-weeks and +46.6% for the 12-weeks.
VMC will be available in the U.S. starting in September, sold in four packs of 355 ml slim cans with a suggested retail price of $10.99. The Paloma and Jamaica Hibiscus Cocktails are also available in a 700 ml resealable can for $4.99.