Dive Brief:
- Pernod Ricard USA’s Absolut is collaborating with Ocean Spray on a ready-to-drink cocktail, the companies said in a press release.
- The Absolut Vodka and Ocean Spray Vodka-Cranberry Range, which is set to reach shelves in early 2024, combine vodka from Absolut with cranberry juice from Ocean Spray, along with crisp sparkling water and other natural flavors.
- Ocean Spray is the latest nonalcoholic beverage brand to enter the fast-growing RTD cocktail space through a partnership with an alcohol maker, joining products from other companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Vita Coco.
Dive Insight:
Few ingredients are as synonymous with being paired together in an alcoholic beverage as vodka and cranberry juice. Now, Absolut Vodka and Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice are poised to tap into that popularity with a drink that combines the top premium imported vodka with the No. 1 cranberry juice brand.
“Absolut and Cranberry Juice are among the most popular drinks with our consumers and now we are making it easier than ever with two powerhouse brands coming together,” Reshma Dhati, senior brand director of marketing at Absolut, said in a statement. “We’re making delicious, quality drinks that are hassle-free so hosts can relax and enjoy the moment, while also making them easy to enjoy on-the-go.”
It’s a logical partnership between two brands that have high recognition in the categories in which they operate. For Ocean Spray, it allows the nearly 100-year-old company to enter a new section of the store where it doesn’t traditionally operate, further boosting brand recognition and usage occasions throughout the day. Absolut then gets to tap into a brand in Ocean Spray that is best known for its work with cranberries.
Cranberry is the most preferred vodka mixer at 42%, growing 8% year over year, according to Technomic data supplied by the companies. About 9.2% of Absolut servings are mixed with cranberry.
With consumers already combining the two brands, it makes sense for Absolut and Ocean Spray to do it in a format that allows them to capture a larger chunk of sales. The companies will undoubtedly still see the lion’s share of sales come from the mixing of their brands at homes and bars, but this offering taps into the growing popularity of ready-to-drink beverages.
Ready-to-drink cocktails — led by High Noon, which is made by winemaker E. & J. Gallo — were the fastest-growing spirits category in both revenue and volume in 2021, according to a September 2022 report from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
It’s a big reason why many nonalcoholic companies are bringing their beverages into the category.
Diageo has partnered with Vita Coco on a line of premium canned cocktails crafted with Captain Morgan rum and Vita Coco coconut water. Boston Beer also has worked with PepsiCo on a Hard Mtn Dew alcoholic offering in the U.S.
Few partnerships, however, have been as logical as Brown-Forman and Coca‑Cola introducing an RTD cocktail combining Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and the iconic soda brand. It’s a strategy similar to the one being used here by Absolut and Ocean Spray. While the merging of two brands already used together by consumers doesn’t guarantee success, it does give the product a meaningful advantage when it’s launched.
