Can you please give an overview of your brand?
At CCEP we’re building an exciting alcohol ready-to-drink (RTD) portfolio with a two-fold strategy. First, we’re bringing together some of the world’s best-known spirits brands with our most-loved mixers, turning familiar bar calls into the convenience of a can, such as Absolut Vodka & SPRITE and BACARDÍ & Coca-Cola. Secondly, we have an incredible breadth of brands across the global Coca-Cola system yet to launch in GB, giving us an exciting opportunity to bring an alcohol twist to them.
What excites me about the alcohol RTD category is that it takes great spirits and iconic mixers from brands consumers already know and trust and makes them work for modern lifestyles. That familiarity and trust is a real point of difference for us. Whether it’s a night in with friends, a music event or a spontaneous get-together, consumers can enjoy a consistent, quality serve with zero fuss.
We want to build on that strength while giving consumers exciting new flavours, formats and occasions to explore.
How is your brand currently performing, and how is the alcohol ready-to-drink market performing?
It’s an exciting time for alcohol RTDs, with the category now worth more than £835m in GB [1]. It remains the fastest growing segment within alcohol [2], with value sales forecast to grow by an average of 4% annually between 2026 and 2028 [3].
We’re seeing that momentum across our portfolio. BACARDÍ & Coca-Cola is tapping into consumer demand for familiar, trusted serves in a convenient format, while Absolut Vodka & SPRITE Watermelon demonstrates the opportunity to complement that familiarity with exciting flavour innovation.
Bacardi & Coca-Cola Launch New Spiced Flavour Image: CCEP
This year we’ve also introduced BACARDÍ Spiced & Coca-Cola, combining BACARDÍ Spiced rum, with hints of vanilla, with Coca-Cola.
Do you have any new product development?
Flavour innovation has been a major focus this year. We’ve extended Absolut Vodka & SPRITE with a Pineapple variant, joining Original and Watermelon, and launched BACARDÍ Spiced & Coca-Cola combining BACARDÍ Spiced rum, with hints of vanilla, with Coca-Cola. It taps into growing interest in rum-based RTDs, a segment which has grown by 10% across Europe since 2024 [4].
We’re innovating in format too. Absolut Vodka & SPRITE is now available in a six-can variety multipack featuring our Original, Watermelon and Pineapple serves. With 67% of RTD shoppers actively choosing multipacks [5], it gives people flavour choice in a format that works brilliantly for sharing and socialising at home.
How are you supporting your brand and NPD?
Marketing is increasingly about becoming part of the occasions where consumers actually enjoy these products, rather than simply talking to them about the liquid.
We’ve brought that to life this year by partnering Absolut Vodka & SPRITE with Pride events across the country, putting the brand at the heart of major cultural moments and giving consumers the chance to experience the product first-hand.
Absolut Vodka & Sprite Launch Pineapple RTD Image: CCEP
BACARDÍ Spiced & Coca-Cola has been supported by our ‘Bring the Party Home’ activation, where shoppers could win speakers, turntables, headphones and house party kits, bringing the brand into the heart of house party occasions with friends and family.
Digital and social help build awareness, but the final few feet still matter. We’re supporting retailers with digital assets, secondary displays and clear in-store activation to turn that awareness into trial.
How important are independent retailers to your brand?
Independent retailers are at the heart of our business and instrumental to the growth of alcohol RTDs. Convenience is where the category really comes to life, with the channel closely connected to immediate consumption and spontaneous social occasions, making chilled availability particularly important – ‘cold is sold’.
As the category grows, independent retailers also have an important role in helping shoppers navigate it. Bringing core products and flavour variants together makes the fixture easier to shop, while secondary and cross-category displays can tap into occasions such as parties, sporting events and nights in.
I’m a big believer in thinking ‘occasion-first’ rather than ‘category-first’. Looking at the whole shopper mission can create more relevant solutions, encourage discovery and ultimately grow the total basket.
What trends are occurring in the sector?
Flavour remains one of the biggest forces shaping alcohol RTD, but shoppers don’t want complexity for its own sake. The sweet spot is offering something new while anchoring it in a flavour, brand or serve they already understand.
We’re also seeing RTDs move into a much wider range of occasions. Single cans remain important for immediate consumption, while multipacks are making RTDs increasingly relevant for sharing and entertaining at home.
Image: CCEP
Moderation is influencing the category too, particularly among younger adults. Drinking less frequently doesn’t necessarily mean stepping away from alcohol altogether. People are simply becoming more intentional about what they choose and increasingly adopting a ‘less but better’ mentality, which puts greater emphasis on quality.
Taken together, these trends create a big opportunity for RTDs that combine familiarity and quality with enough flavour and format innovation to keep the category exciting.
Describe your brand in three words
Familiar. Evolving. Convenient.
[1] Nielsen - Total ARTD - Total Coverage - 52w/e 16.05.26
[2] NIQ, Total Coverage UK, Value Sales, 52we 14.06.26 versus YA
[3] GlobalData, Segment Insight, February 2026
[4] Nielsen FY Report 2024 – DE, UK, ES, NL
[5] OnePulse Survey. What Alcohol RTD multipack can sizes do consumers like to purchase? September 2025