Author: Jürgen Deibel
RTD (short for “ready-to-drink”) are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages that are ready to be consumed. These are cocktails or long drinks, which were already placed on the market at the end of the 20th century for the first time. As early as 2002 trade journalists wrote: “A new generation of alcoholic beverages breaks the boundaries between indoors and out, between out and about and taking a break. Mixed drinks in a bottle called “ready to drink” free consumers from old conventions: you don’t have to behave but can move freely because the beverage can be taken along with you everywhere. Those out and about with an RTD in their hand do not run the risk of committing a stylistic faux pas because the bottle has become an integral part of urban young adults’ “going-out” look.
In 2024 they finally became mainstream: Ready-to-drink beverages featured prominently at ProWein 2024 with its new branded world ProSpirits in Düsseldorf and were presented by many exhibitors in one way or the other.
More than any other alcoholic beverage, RTD drinks have a reputation for tasting good. Alcohol (be it wines or spirits) in combination with various soft drinks such as Ginger Ale, Bitter Lemon, Tonic, syrup or fruit juice enables product developers to come up with ever new flavour combinations to match current trends and combine them with consumers’ needs. The often even colourful RTD beverages can therefore perfectly satisfy our desire for ever new and exciting taste experiences, which is now so widespread in our experience-focused society.
But what is the benefit of RTD beverages? US market research company Mintel has studied this and already wrote a number of years ago that the biggest sales driver here was obviously their taste: 64% like RTD beverages because of their favourite taste, 42% because they like to try out new flavours, 39% prefer a specific type of alcohol, and 38% make use of bargain sales at supermarkets. 36% prefer RTD beverages because of their low prices, while 31% prefer to buy them because of a known brand. This has hardly changed until today.
Just as exciting are the occasions when consumers opt for these handy RTDs: 54% wish to have these drinks ready to drink at any time without any fuss, 50% want to consume them in the company of others, 49% at home, 43% at outdoor events, 42% in summer and 24% simply to indulge. Bottom line: RTD holds great potential!
