StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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StateWays | www.stateways.com | July/August 2017 31 used to eating better and putting better things in their mouths." Which would be an issue for RTDs if consumers still con- sidered them unhealthy. For many years they were largely just that: cheap products loaded with sugar and calories. Thank- fully, for the sake of changing consumer attitudes, the health movement occurred at a time when a younger generation came to defi ne the alcohol market. "Millennials realize and accept that just because something is portable and an RTD does not connote a low-quality product," says Harley Bauer, co-founder of LIQS Cocktail Shot, a line of premium prepackaged shots. Retailers have responded by weeding out artifi cial, low-qual- ity products, Bauer says. This has led to an overall better, health- ier selection of RTDs for consumers, which also helps combat lingering stigma. But that prior, bad reputation is not totally gone. So believes Merilee Kick, whose distilling company Southern Champion produces several premium RTDs, including BuzzBallz (200-ml. premade shots that come in round, metal, pop-top cans). "I think RTDs are what they are," she says. "Our buyer isn't really the 50-year-old male Scotch drinker — our drinker is the partier. So trying to convince a 50-something male Scotch drinker that we are a high-quality product will never happen — they've already made up their mind." Just because connoisseurs may look down on RTDs does not mean the products are inferior, of course. As Kick points out, hers and many other RTDs use real cream, real juice and as clean a spirit as any on the market. "There are plenty of cool-looking expensive bottles of liquor on the market, and most people buy based on looks alone, like Maker's Mark dripped wax or the Grey Goose frosted bottle," she says. "But if consumers really compare the liquid inside, they'd be surprised to discover it might not be better tasting." Agreeing with Kick is Peter Reaske, CEO of MYX Fusions. The Nicki Minaj-owned line of sangrias that comes in 4-packs of 187-ml. bottles. "The stigma might not be totally gone because big-volume brands like Bud Light Lime-A-Rita still have their place," he says. Less-expensive products like the Rita line may enforce the stigma of cheap products. But so too can the new premi- um-priced RTDs help counter consumer misunderstanding. "When you're paying $8.99-to-$9.99 for a 4-pack, versus $6.99, I think that with that alone RTDs are inherently defi ned by the demo who can afford it," Reaske says. WHO AND WHERE? When she fi rst launched BuzzBallz, Kick assumed her core buyers were college students pre-gaming before heading out to bars. That remains partially true, but Kick also gets "many emails from consumers that are mid-40s who love BuzzBallz." Urban markets also sell well for her, as do pro-hockey arenas. Other producers report similar fi ndings: a broader demo- graphic that they had expected. Buying RTDs may be more based on the occasion than age, socioeconomic status or gender. "We see a lot of usage as an alternative to beer occasions," says Reaske of Myx Fusions. "We've nicknamed our wine a 'deck wine'." Some settings like decks for RTDs are obvious: beach, pool, picnics, tailgating. "We're also seeing a lot of people bring our products to social settings where glass is forbidden," says Levi- tan of Beso Del Sol. But RTD sales are not confi ned to warm-weather activities. "It's not the case that we're a seasonal item," says Ryan Ballew, VP of Sales for the premium cocktail-shot brand Twisted Shotz. "We're an occasion-based item. It's always easier for the con- sumer to buy our brand then buy three-to-four full bottles and mix together the cocktails themselves." One perhaps unexpected location where RTDs have popped up is on golf courses. LIQs recently partnered with the golf club network Palmer Advantage. The prepackaged shots will be available along the greens via beverage carts, concessions, member guest nights, tournaments and private events. LIQs also recently rebranded to darken its previously