Seltzers are well and truly here, and all predictions and forecasts are pointing towards a strong summer of sales for the category, fuelled by a solid groundswell created by existing brands ramping and their innovation initiatives, as well as new entrants looking to make their mark and ride the massive seltzer wave.
After a summer of discovery last year, consumers now understand the seltzer category and its place as an established segment. But the potentially unexpected category that has benefitted from the Rise of Seltzer’ are premium RTDs, with the category predicted to produce large volumes of sales over the course of the summer, and beyond. Recent research from IWSR, claims that the RTD category will double its volume share in the next five years, with seltzer being a fundamental part of that growth.
From ‘better-for-you’ spirits based drinks to craft cocktails and even the non-alcohol juggernaut, premium RTDs are delivering on trends that everyone in the trade knows and understands are important to consumers right now.
For a long time the RTD category stalled as the consumer perception was one of drinks that were high in sugar, high in alcohol and, thanks to the RTD tax, too expensive. What seltzers have done is remove that perception and instead introduce consumers to RTDs that are low sugar, low calorie, low carb and gluten free, all key consumer wants and that is reflected in the sales data.
The category is experiencing both volume and value growth, more Australians are drinking RTDs and platforms like Kaddy are seeing huge numbers. As we shake off the shackles of lockdown and look forward to summer, seltzers are front and centre. But in the past two months Kaddy has seen the number of non-seltzer RTD products on its platform triple, with average weekly sales increasing 400 per cent.
These volumes are being driven by a huge variety of premium RTD brands across different sectors within the category. Alcoholic kombucha brands like HALO, Naughty Booch and Ventura Brewing champion the same low sugar, low calorie and low carb benefits as seltzers, whilst at the opposite end of the spectrum, pre-made craft cocktails from brands like Archie Rose, Melbourne Martini and Onyx Coffee Spirits are sustaining consistent popularity beyond their recent spike as lockdown indulgences. Growing consumer demand for ‘adult’ non-alc options has seen a raft of new alcohol free RTDs from Lyre’s, Yes You Can Drinks and Naked Life also join the wide range of Premium RTDs available through Kaddy.
In order to help venues and retailers navigate this increasingly congested space, Kaddy has introduced a new ‘Most Popular’ feature, which highlights those brands which are seeing high volumes of trade sales in a short period of time. This makes it easy to see which brands are the ones attracting the most attention.
The beauty of Kaddy to venues and retailers, beyond the convenience and insights, is the cost. It is free to sign up to, and free to see and order from hundreds of different brands, but also it is free to use as a discovery tool and get real-time insights into the most popular premium RTDs.
Using Kaddy’s ‘Most Popular’ function, you can make a feature in your store of ‘Australia’s most popular RTD of the week’ bring consumer attention, which is already interested and engaged with this category, to the trend-leading drinks. It also gives you the opportunity to be at the forefront of this huge summer trend – using Kaddy you can order these products directly, without the need to fill in additional credit apps.
Premium RTDs, seltzers and ‘better-for-you’ drinks will be massive this summer, and Kaddy is opening the door to the new wave of premium RTDs, not only making it easy to navigate the category, but also making it easy to ensure you are stocking the products that consumers are engaging with and that they are wanting.
Kaddy has recently gone national and offers an unbiased view on the popularity of these products from a spectrum of different brands – big and small.
So sign-up today, create your free Kaddy account and discover the latest and best-selling premium RTDs.