These days, when every trip to the convenience store reveals another gondola end packed with colourful canned hard seltzers, beverage brands need to pull out all the stops to get their products noticed. In fact, according to recent figures from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, canned RTDs are seeing a case volume increase of 15%,
While some brand owners rely on nostalgia – Sunny D vodka seltzer, anyone? – and others choose long-established brands to partner with – Lipton Hard Iced Tea, for example – some have turned to celebrities to help achieve greater market share.
According to CGA Strategy, the RTD consumer in the US is young (only 16% of drinkers are above the age of 55). They earn an average of US$83,000 annually, and consumption skews just slightly more to women (52%) than to men (48%). Yet interestingly, so far the celebrity endorsers have been mostly women.
One notable exception is Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs who, along with Cîroc recently launched a tropical Vodka Spritz. In addition, there’s been just one drag performer that we know of, RuPaul partnering with Svedka Vodka founder Marina Hahn to create the House of Love line.
An early entry
Off the back of her Bravo TV fame on The Real Housewives of NYC, Bethenny Frankel cracked the code back in 2009, when she launched Skinnygirl Cocktails, a supermarket line of large format, low-calorie ready-to-serve bottled drinks. Frankel sold the margarita-led brand to Beam Suntory in 2011 for a reported $100m but retained the rights to the Skinnygirl name.
More recently, actor, amateur mixologist and non-drinker Blake Lively (pictured above) expanded her line of Betty Buzz mixers to include Betty Booze, a set of three sparkling culinary cocktails made from real booze and real juice.
A brand festooned with celeb connections
In 2022 Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits reignited the celebrity cocktail trend with the release of a line of premium, star-kissed drinks including The Perfect Cosmo by SJP from Sarah Jessica Parker, The Margalicious Margarita created by gal-pals Vanessa Hudgens, Rosario Dawson and Ashley Benson, and The Hardscatto from Playboi Carti. Fast forward to May last year and actor & producer Neil Patrick Harris got in the game, fronting the 12% ABV After Hours Espresso Martini.
Pairing with a star bartender
Jennifer Lopez called on high-profile bartender Lynnette Marrero when she caught the RTD bug and, with The Rock’s Teremana Tequila co-founders Ken Austin and Jenna Fagnan and her agent Benny Medina, launched Delola early last year.
Despite getting some blowback for having appeared to backtrack on her teetotaler image, Lopez was involved in the tasting process all along the way. “She was great at saying things she’d like and didn’t like, which is the best thing I can hear from somebody,” says Marrero.
Lopez also put her mark on the bottle, stamped with the Bronx crest, and chose the 75cl size to encourage entertaining.
Stars & distillers
This summer, singer-songwriter Katy Perry partnered with master distiller Morgan McLachlan to create Très Rosé, an alcohol-free aperitif designed to mimic a sparkling brut rose, for their De Soi brand. The pair met in 2020 when both were pregnant and launched the line as young mothers trying to maintain a fun and healthy lifestyle. Featuring adaptogens such as lion’s mane and rooibos, De Soi plays on the theme of ‘maîtrise de soi’, meaning ‘self-control’ in French.
A timely offering for bars
The celebrity RTD trend may have a positive impact on the on-premise channel. As post-pandemic staffing models remain unpredictable and bar talent hard to come by, “Delola can be a really great solution,” says Marerro. “So [bars] always can offer something bright and craft … and it’s predictable … consistent.
“What I hope is that with someone’s influence like Jennifer, it sheds a more positive light on what we do as bartenders and mixologists and that’s a great opportunity. One, to get that recognition for us to have such a big name behind us pushing us in this way, and also because it’s opening up another world for people, because there isn’t a craft cocktail bar in every city in the world.”
This article was initially published by The Alcohol Professor, a US-based online “homeroom” that covers beer, cocktails, spirits and wine along with travel tips, book reviews, bar reviews, recipes and videos.
