RTDs hit double-digit growth
Ready to drink (RTD) options are boosting sales for the drinks sector with the category recording double-digit growth in shops and supermarkets, according to new data.
The findings, which were outlined by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) in its Sip 2 Report, were based on NIQ sales data and revealed notable trends in the alcohol sector. According to the report, RTDs are one of the few alcohol categories experiencing growth and the category grew by 12% in volume and 17% in value from a year ago, generating £704 million in sales in the off-trade.
Growth in ‘range and popularity’
RTDs, which includes spirits and mixers, canned cocktails, bottled cocktails and hard seltzers, is growing in both “range and popularity” with pre-mixed drinks having “established itself as an alcohol category in its own right, offering convenience, a smaller serve and wide flavour range”.
The data identified the fact that the spirits category, in the off trade, lost just under £40 million in sales overall in the three months up to 3 January 2026, compared to the previous year. However, it also highlighted how “in contrast 44% of RTD sales came from consumers shifting their spend from buying spirits”.
‘Affordable’
Reasons behind the boom have stemmed from the fact that cocktail making at home proved popular during the pandemic and this led to a rise in spirit sales amid cost of living pressures which essentially resulted in “increased consumer demand for more affordable RTDs”. The shift has assisted in “volumes in the off-trade growing by 17% since 2024”.
Speaking about the trend, WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said: “It is welcome news to see a bright spot in the sales data. The UK spirits sector has been experiencing plummeting sales following the biggest duty increase in almost 50 years in August 2023.”
Partner Content
‘Convenient’
Echoing this trend elsewhere, in an interview with the drinks business, Zach Poelma, senior vice president at Southern Glazer’s recently explained that, as consumers look for options that feel more comparable to a cocktail, ABVs are rising in the RTD category. Poelma pointed out that what we are seeing is a trend for “consumers becoming more deliberate about how they drink depending on the occasion” and, as part of the trend “higher-ABV RTDs are growing because they deliver a more bar-quality, cocktail-like experience in a convenient format”.
Beale also described his disappointment with the British Government’s “shortsighted policy to keep raising alcohol tax in line with growing inflation” and lamented that this was “delivering less revenue to the Treasury and continues to prolong the doom loop”.
Shifting from traditional to ‘on-the-go’ formats
He explained that what the WSTA has found in its report data is the fact that there has been “a shift in shoppers spending from traditional alcohol categories to RTDs” and that “on-the-go drinks in smaller packages prove increasingly popular to hard pressed consumers”.
With this in mind, Beale pointed out that the sector should not rest on its laurels but instead identified that “our innovative distillers need support to help them to continue to revitalise the sector and deliver growth, investment and boost UK jobs”.
Speaking at the London Wine Fair last week, Beale also noted areas of innovation and growth for the sector and identified that interest in different formats to meet new occasions was key for “providing great quality and convenience for consumers” and added “it doesn’t really matter how you’re providing it if it’s convenient and it tastes good”.
Related news
Breaking through to government: solutions, stats and singing from the same song-sheet
