For the first time, this Memorial Day weekend, RTD cocktails landed in the No. 4 spot in liquor subcategory on Drizly after whiskey, vodka, and tequila, accounting for six percent of share within the liquor category. This was up significantly from Memorial Day weekend 2020, when RTDs held the No. 8 spot.
”RTDs were a clear winner on Memorial Day, but this was not a big surprise since we have been tracking the rise of ready-to-drink options, which has been accelerating all year,” says Liz Paquette, Drizly’s head of consumer insights. “As we’ve seen the growth of ready-to-drink products and distribution, we predicted 2021 would be the summer of RTDs, especially single-serve RTDs.”
For the first time, an RTD brand — High Noon — broke into the top 10 best-selling liquor brands on Drizly, and was the best-selling RTD brand over Memorial Day weekend. Other single-serve RTDs like Cutwater Spirits, Buzzballz, and The Long Drink Company also made gains on the top 10 RTD brands list.
Both Five Drinks Co. and Two Chicks were among the fastest-growing liquor brands year-over-year. These new entrants and the growth of established RTD brands suggest the market is not yet saturated, and drinkers are increasingly interested in the category’s flavor diversity.
Meanwhile, hard seltzer wasn’t able to keep the overall beer category from slipping to 19% from 22%.
“Overall, we have begun to see a decline in beer share year-over-year,” says Paquette.”We expect this will continue through the summer months, particularly as other single-serve alternatives gain steam.”
Within the category, it was hard seltzer that drove growth compared to the month overall, with share increasing to 28% from 25%. Memorial Day weekend also reflected year-over-year share growth; over Memorial Day weekend 2020, hard seltzer held just 21% of category share.
Brand-specific shifts further emphasized hard seltzer’s prominence within the beer category; White Claw remained the No. 1 brand this year, while Truly Hard Seltzer eclipsed both Bud Light and Corona to hold the No. 2 spot. Coors and Michelob also saw growth year-over-year driven by the introduction of their hard seltzer SKUs.