Wine Fast Track Brands

Wine Fast Track Brands

READY-TO-DRINK RISING STARS( 000 9-Liter cases)

RISING STAR

High Noon Sun Sips Spirit of Gallo 21,845 24,750 13 % Surfside Iced Tea & Vodka Stateside Vodka Distillery 1,250 4,925 294 % Carbliss SNFood & Beverage LLC 1,496 2,745 83 % Finnish Long Drink The Long Drink Co 1,765 2,670 51 % Nutrl Nutrl( ABI) 2,005 2,513 25 % Mom Water Mom Water 745 850 14 %

On the Rocks Suntory Global Spirits 730 793 9 % FRESCA™ Mixed cocktails Constellation Brands 448 538 20 % Pamos Cannabis Cocktails Pamos Beverage Company-- 90 ++% Buddi THC-Infused Seltzer Pamos Beverage Company-- 75 ++%

READY-TO-DRINK FAST TRACK BRANDS( 000 9-Liter cases)

BeatBox Beverages Future Proof 3,002 5,400 80 % Cutwater Cutwater Spirits( ABI) 3,035 3,459 14 % Monaco Cocktails Atomic Brands 2,975 3,163 6 %

Source: The Beverage Information Group ' s 2025 Industry Overview Handbook( p) Preliminary

tivations, we brought the High Noon spirit directly to game days,” Lieb adds.“ By blending cultural relevance, strategic media and experiential moments, we continued to fuel High Noon’ s momentum in 2024— cementing our place as a premium leader in the category.”

Similarly to High Noon, Rising Star winner The Finnish Long Drink also experiences success through in-person activations.

“ Thankfully, the taste of our drink has kept us with a loyal fan base, but we’ ve also run some great campaigns over the last year that kept our customers engaged and helped spread the word,” Kle Bradshaw, CMO, The Finnis Long Drink, mentions.

“ One standout was the‘ Taste of Finland’ pop-up in New York City, where we showcased our Finnish roots,” Bradshaw continues.“ We set up a storefront window where people enjoyed Long Drink while taking an ice bath and sauna, with onlookers watching the fun.”

In July of 2024, Rising Star winner FRESCA Mixed Cocktails got up close and personal with consumers by encouraging them to enter a sweepstakes for a limited time to earn a chance to win one of 100 limited-edition Fancy Ice kits, which also included cocktail glasses and a 12−pack of FRESCA Mixed.

BLENDING COCKTAILS WITH CANNABIS

The cannabis-infused beverage space is also skyrocketing in popularity as of late, with cannabis RTDs making their way onto retail shelves across the nation.

“ People continue to look for great tasting alcohol alternatives that have an effect people can enjoy,” explains David Mukpo, CEO and founder of Rising Star winner Pamos Beverage Co., a hemp-derived cannabis-infused spirits’ line.“ We launched two new flavors of RTDs in 2024— our Pamos Strawberry Margarita Spritz and Pamos Lime Ranch Water— which were immediate successes.”

Since the brand’ s inception, Pamos has rapidly risen through the ranks and is

RTD cocktail brand On The Rocks is constantly releasing new flavors to stay relevant with consumers.

now on the shelves in all Spec’ s Wines, Spirits, and Foods locations in Texas, all ABC Fine Wine & Spirits in Florida and in all Total Wine & More locations in the states where they carry such products.

“ We have a lot in store for 2025, with some exciting programming across retail partners,” Mukpo says.“ As an emerging category, our promotions are predominantly centered around consumer education. However, there are also calendar-thematic promotions, as well.”

Rising Star winner Buddi THC-infused seltzers is another cannabis RTD that is quite popular in the alternative beverages space.

Buddi launched in 2024 as a consumer-friendly seltzer and quickly made strides in Texas, according to Kevin Carr with Buddi, building a solid consumer base. The seltzer is now expanding into Florida and several other states.

Echoing the“ liquid to lips” marketing tactic is Carr, explaining that 2025 will be focused on these types of programs in select states,“ as well as expanding our wholesaler network through state level distribution.”

“ As we expand, this will allow us to work with our retail partners on pricing promotions to inspire trial of all our different flavors, including a special summer theme variety-pack,” adds Carr.

EDUCATING CONSUMERS

Many of our Growth Brands winners’ marketing campaigns focus on elevat-

40 StateWay • Summer 2025 www. stateways. com