‘People aren't bringing a bottle’: Convenience and affordability demands propelling RTD hard seltzer growth in APAC
Everyday Weekend has rapidly expanded its presence in multiple Asia Pacific markets from China to Indonesia since it was established in 2020, and believes that the market is particularly keen on ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages within the alcohol sector.
“It really is all about convenience – you see a lot of consumers that may be going to a party or on a boating trip who would normally turn up with a bottle of vodka or something [that are making the shift,’ Everyday Weekend Founder and Director Jeremy Maclaurin told FoodNavigator-Asia.
“But the trouble with this is that not only will you have to have a bottle of vodka, but also the accompanying mixers and limes and the knife and board to cut the limes and so on.
“And I think those days are gone as people now want the convenience of a well-branded and well-priced pre-mixed product without having to carry around all of those bells and whistles just to get to a nice drink, which is what RTD can provide.”
In terms of flavour variety within the RTD alcohol category, fruity flavours continue to rule the roost across the board but in Asia there is also an added requirement for flavour profiles – as well as packaging attractiveness - to be creative and unusual.
“In Asia I think really anything that's cool and new and bright and colourful is what is mostly gaining attention in these markets,” he added.
“One of our biggest target markets right now is China, and these factors come even more strongly into play, but we also have to do a lot more branding and marketing about what hard seltzer really is and why it's not as a sweet or sickly as some of the other competitors.
“This is especially relevant when talking about key attributes such as low sugar, 100% natural and so on versus artificial flavours and high sugar content.
“So this is a huge education piece on where we sit in the market, why we sit in the market like we do, and why we perceive our product as premium compared to some local competitors, and why we go with the flavour profiles we have instead of what is essentially lolly water.”
Combining all of these key drivers has become an important hallmark for the firm, which is determined to establish itself as a sustainable and long-term brand in the region, even against tough palates such as in China.
“Many of the palates here are sweeter and that really comes back to the education piece, [but again] we see a lot of local brands that are sort of missing the mark, especially in China where a lot of new brands have come and go,” he said.
“We have also looked at other markets and seen a lot of these seltzers and other such beverages moving into the functional drink spaces – we want to focus on Asia as our core demographic for hard seltzers though, and are now working on new flavour profiles to match local palates better, coming up in the next year.”
Watch the video above to find out more.
