How RTDs have secured their permanent status – Category Intel

The ready-to-drink category has been busy shaking up the global alcohol industry in recent years - positioning itself not merely as a stop-gap alternative to bar service, but as a dynamic and evolving cornerstone of modern beverage consumption in its own right. In 2021, around 3,400 new RTD products were launched in the world’s top ten markets; this plummeted to just over 1,800 in 2024One in three RTD launches was a hard seltzer in 2021; last year, the rate dropped to one in nineFAB (flavoured alcoholic beverage) RTDs are growing, accounting for 16% of the wider category in 2021