The rise of ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails isn’t going anywhere this fall, according to e-commerce beverage alcohol delivery platform Drizly in its BevAlc Insights’ “Top Predictions for Fall 2021 Sales” report.
This year, spirits-based RTDs have grown at 15 times the rate of hard seltzer on Drizly, driven by offerings from Cutwater, Onda, Kahlua, Crafthouse, and Volley. Drizly predicts RTDs will stay relevant into the cooler months through continued innovation and the introduction of new seasonal flavors. It also predicts the incorporation of new liquor bases such as whiskey.
“Innovation in the ready-to-drink category has skyrocketed over the past year, with the number of catalog items on Drizly growing 60% in 2021 to date compared to the same time period in 2020,” Liz Paquette, Drizly’s head of consumer insights, said in the report.
“If RTDs continue to mirror the rise in hard seltzer category in 2019 (which is likely given the blur/similarities across the categories), ready-to-drink may potentially see a slight drop in share from summer to fall due to seasonality,” she continued. “However, it will continue to grow year-over-year as the category establishes itself as a year-round staple.”
On the other hand, Drizly predicts the beer category’s share to decline on the platform this fall. Last year, beer’s share dropped after the summer due to the seasonal nature of Drizly’s top-selling beer segments, hard seltzer and light lager, according to Paquette.
While Drizly predicts IPAs and other “heavy” beers to make up some of the lost beer share, hard kombucha and hard cider will see gains as well.
Hard kombucha accounts for fewer than 1% of Drizly’s beer category, but is one of the fastest-growing segments on the platform. Due to consumers’ increased interest in “better for you” products, Drizly predicts hard kombucha will continue growing in the fall, driven by brands from JuneShine, Boochcraft, and Flying Embers. After price and availability, health-related factors were the most important factor for consumers when purchasing alcohol, according to Drizly’s 2021 consumer report.
A natural fall favorite, hard cider is likely to grow as well. Cider’s share of beer category sales on Drizly grew 4.3% to 5.2% between the summer and fall of 2020. Boston Beer Company-owned Angry Orchard and independent brands Downeast Cider, Austin Eastciders, Wolffer Estate and Citizen Cider have continued to dominate the segment year-over-year.