How to Create Your Own Canned Cocktail

Read Time: 4 min.

Canned cocktails are trendy these days, and their market share is trending upward. According to Nielsen, before the pandemic, the sector was seeing a steady 21.5% year-on-year growth. But when measured in June 2020, four months into the lockdown, those numbers ballooned to 90.4%. Suffice to say, if you were waiting for the right time to make a move into the ready-to-drink (RTD) category, it’s here, and it’s now.

But canned cocktails are not a simple matter. To succeed, you must know how the industry works and understand the steps involved to achieve your business goals. You must do your homework first before diving in, and that’s what we’re going to discuss today.

Steps to Creating Your Canned Cocktail

Here is an overview of the broad steps you’ll need to take to create a canned cocktail.

1. Ideate

The ideation stage is where you’ll come up with your initial ideas. Think about your market. Imagine your ideal customer and their lifestyle. Consider different spirits, flavors, and the style of beverage that’s popular in your target demographic. Look at market data specific to those groups to see what RTD products dominate the niche. Even in the early stages, it helps to work with an integrated beverage developer with experience in this space. Ideally, you should try to find a team with special knowledge in canned cocktails made from 100% agave, premium flavors, or other spirits. Look for experience and expertise in developing custom cocktails, as this will make your process easy and support your learning curve through the entire process.

2. Packaging and Design

Branding and packaging your canned cocktail is a critical undertaking. The way your product is presented can make or break your success, so it’s important to devote adequate time, creativity, and resources to perfecting it. Work with a team that has proven experience in the industry, in-depth knowledge of markets, trends, and the kinds of products that appeal to your audience. Your ideal partner is one that works closely with you to finesse your product design, from the flavor profile to the brand personality, ensuring you stay within your budget and understand the legal implications of your decisions.

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3. Production

Choosing a producer that owns and controls the process is vital. Managing the production chain is a highly nuanced process, and costs can get out of hand very quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing. Working with an experienced canned cocktail manufacturer removes those pain points. Seek out a partner with excellent quality control and quality assurance processes. From the ingredients to packaging to the canning line, every aspect should be overseen to ensure it lives up to the most exacting standards.

4. Marketing, Positioning, and Selling Your Canned Cocktail

If you have a strong brand with a market that’s well-defined, this step should fall into place quite neatly. However, if it’s a new company or a new brand for you, it’s essential to ensure your product is positioned correctly to ensure maximum impact. Some of the things you’ll want to think about include sales channels, merchandising strategy, distribution, and perhaps more importantly, what brands and products you’re competing with. A trusted partner should fully support your demand planning and supply chain needs. Ensure that your team oversees all legal and export documentation, including lab testing and label approvals, so you can be confident that your cocktail is exactly what it needs to be. Lastly, consider the volumes you expect to move. To ensure the success of your marketing initiative, your supply chain must be consistent and reliable, both from a logistical point of view as well as QA/QC.

Final Thoughts

When developing canned cocktails, working with a producer that is experienced in every aspect of the business is your key to success. In partnering with Aceves Spirits, you can be confident you’re working with a team that makes the entire process as seamless as can be. We prioritize your success from every standpoint; from ingredient sourcing and selection to production, legal compliance, and international logistics, we take care of the hard stuff so you can focus on positioning and selling your product. Aceves Spirits specializes in canned cocktails made from 100% agave, premium flavors, and other spirits, including mixto (mixed tequila), mezcal, vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, and sotol. Our experience and expertise in developing custom cocktails make the process easy. We are a one-stop-shop for the entire canned cocktail production process. Our facilities are state-of-the-art, and our team is second to none. Quality control and quality assurance are in our DNA. From the ingredients to packaging to the canning line, we oversee every aspect to ensure it lives up to our exacting standards. Tell us more about your drink! Reach out today. We’d love to show you how we can help.
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