Beer and RTD
02-Nov-2016 By Helen Gilbert
Heineken UK and Beverage Brands have not breached guidelines on the marketing of their Kronenbourg and WKD alcohol brands, the advertising watchdog has ruled.
RTD
23-Aug-2016 By Nikkie Sutton
WKD is set to undergo a “radical reinvention” with a new pack design across the range along with the launch of two new, lower-calorie flavours, following research into 18 to 24-year-olds. The brand will also unveil a new communications programme ‘WKD...
29-Jan-2016 By Ben Winstanley
SHS Drinks has unveiled two new WKD products to the alcoholic RTD category, following in-depth research into the changing lifestyles of 18 to 24-year-olds during the past 10 years.
Drinks Offer
07-Apr-2015 By Nigel Huddleston
The RTD category has been in decline in recent times, but the Publican's Morning Advertiser has found some bright lights to keep the sector afloat.
12-Feb-2015 By Robyn Black
WKD is entering the fast growing shot market for the first time with the launch of a 15% ABV sub-brand, WKD 1.
22-Aug-2013 By Robyn Black
Alcopop brand WKD has teamed up with Spotify, the music streaming service, and DJs Lauren Pope and Melvin (one half of Rickie & Melvin from the Kiss FM Breakfast show) to create a series of “crowd sourced” nights out.
28-Mar-2011 By Sonya Hook
Sonya Hook discovers the recent wave of RTD launches could represent the beginning of a rather fruity alliance with swish cocktails.
'Brewing chiefs urge end to beer tax regime'
19-Mar-2010
Forty leading bosses in the brewing and pub industry have called on the Government to recognise the key role played by pubs in their local...
05-Mar-2009 By Robyn Lewis
The RTD market is experiencing a shake-up this month as two of the biggest brands announce reformulations. Diageo is lowering the abv of its Smirnoff...
05-Dec-2008 By Andrew Pring
The Queen's speech revealed plans for a new restrictive code for pubs, but not the draconian crackdown we feared, says Andrew Pring.
Getting his kicks from life
08-May-2008
Never one to be in the passenger seat, Global Brands MD Steve Perez tells Noli Dinkovski how his single-minded approach to business drives him...
'Tories unveil plans for 50p alcopop tax'
07-Mar-2008
Alcopops, super-strength lager and cider will soar in price to stop underage boozing, Tories will pledge today. Favourites like Bacardi Breezer,...
Advertising not targeting children
16-Nov-2007
A new report on the impact of alcohol advertising on young people has found that television advertising has become less appealing to under-18s since...
RTDs: Kicking to victory
07-Sep-2007
It has been an interesting few years for Global Brands (GBL). The company started out in 1997 as a drinks distributor and then entered the...
Taste test
21-Jun-2007
THIS WEEK: Maguire's pear cider With summer almost upon us, we put one of the latest cider entries, by Halewood, to the test Darryl Danielli...
Bacardi-Martini closes plant
08-Mar-2007
Bacardi-Martini is to close its Southampton bottling plant in response to "continued and significant" ready-to-drink (RTD) sector decline. Announcing...
02-Mar-2007 By John Harrington
The company blames "significant decline" in the RTD sector
Listening to their customers
11-Sep-2006
"To a large degree, consumers have now taken control of the on-trade market and are not prepared to simply accept what is put before them. The...
The new drinking occasion…
08-Sep-2006
AGE WAITS for no brand. Certainly not RTD brands anyway. Becoming unfashionable is always the danger when you align a product so completely with a...
Brand owners at fault for RTD decline
17-Nov-2005
A leading brands expert has slammed Ready-To-Drink (RTD) brand owners and told them to look at themselves for the decline in the market.Last week...
RTD focus: What would licensees like to see?
16-Sep-2005
Last week we heard from the RTD brand owners. This week it's the turn of the licensees. By Adam Withrington.Despite AC Nielsen statistics showing a...
RTD Focus: How RTDs went from hero to villain
07-Sep-2005
Over the next couple of weeks Adam Withrington will take a look at the RTD sector. This week: brand owners.The Ready-To-Drink category has...
Power brands
25-Aug-2005
Across the board it's the big hitting names that win the votes, according to our reader surveys, says ROSIE DAVENPORT Smirnoff, which is undoubtedly...
Freehouse survey
04-Aug-2005
When it comes to selecting which brands a pub stocks, the owners are overwhelmingly in control (79%) with just 8% of licensees delegating it to their...
A round with The Publican
22-Jun-2005
What made the news in The Publican this week 10 years ago, five years ago and last year.1995Police and magistrates in York tell pubs they can welcome...
Cobra launches low-calorie beer
26-May-2005
Cobra lager is adding to its burgeoning range with the introduction of a low-calorie beer. Cobra Lower Cal Lower Carb or Cobra Lower for short ...
Archers Vea aims to pep up RTDs
12-May-2005
by Rosie Davenport Diageo has pledged to fight rival RTD manufacturers on taste and calorie count as it pins its hopes for reviving the category on...
Bacardi Breezers offer health kick
05-May-2005
by Rosie Davenport Health-conscious consumers are at the centre of Bacardi Breezer's bid to turn around the ailing RTD sector as it adds a handful...
Could drink be heading the same way as tobacco?
10-Mar-2005
Eurocrats are stamping down on the drinks industry and have warned the trade it must "put its house in order" or risk European intervention.Comments...
Silver gets the bullet in WKD brands shake-up
24-Feb-2005
by Rosie Davenport Beverage Brands has pledged to focus on bringing new products to the RTD market after axing WKD Silver. The supplier said it...
Pub chains cut back on RTD brands
04-Nov-2004
High-street pub chains are slashing the number of ready-to-drink brands on shelves to concentrate on stocking more profitable lines. Sales of RTDs...
Battle of the bottle
04-Nov-2004
In the face of steep decline, suppliers of ready-to-drinks (RTDs) are desperate to come up with the next innovation to capture consumer interest
Top 10 RTD brands
04-Nov-2004
2004 ranking* 2003 ranking* Smirnoff Ice 1 1 WKD 2 2 Bacardi Breezer 3 3 Reef 4 4 VK 5 5 Archers Aqua 6 6 Red Square 7 7 Vodka Mudshake 8 22 Chekov...
Entering the spirit world
04-Nov-2004
The popularity of spirits offers the best indication for future innovation in RTDs. But buyers are warning that copycat flavours will not succeed...
Innovate or face extinction
28-Oct-2004
RTDs are a fashion item and to stand still is to commit commercial suicide. So what are drinks manufacturers doing to keep their products fresh? By...
Beverage Brands
26-Feb-2004
Who are they? Beverage Brands has been around since the birth of the RTD market, so it may surprise some that it is now over a decade old. Managing...
Bacardi reassures licensees of buoyant RTD sector
17-Dec-2003
Bacardi-Martini has taken steps to reassure licensees that the much-maligned ready-to-drink category is here to stay. Despite talk of a slowdown, the...
Vinnie substitute?
06-Nov-2003
Bacardi-Martini has admitted it is considering other celebrities for its Bacardi rum adverts. Its Latin Quarter ads are currently fronted by...
End of an era as Hooch is shown the door by Coors
03-Nov-2003
Hooch, the founding father of the ready-to-drink (RTD) sector, has been banished to the fridge in the sky following a decision by Coors Brewers to...
WKD strength takes five
14-Oct-2003
Tough trading conditions in the premium packaged spirit (PPS) category have forced Beverage Brands to reduce the ABV of its flagship WKD brand.The...
Wonder offensive
11-Sep-2003
Golden Wonder has announced a £3.5m relaunch of Golden Wonder Crisps in Scotland and Northern Ireland, in a bid to establish the brand as the top...
Byers eyes Breezers'
28-Aug-2003
It's not every day that a drink becomes a byword for a whole new voting generation. But Bacardi Breezer drinkers could be the latest target of...
What the Sunday papers said
18-Aug-2003
Mail on SundayThe European Commission (EC) has given the Premier League until next month to prove that the latest deal it struck with Sky for...
Bacardi leans to diet market
24-Jul-2003
by John Harrington Bacardi-Martini has launched a reduced calorie version of Bacardi Breezer to the on-trade in a bid to appeal to the lucrative...
Bacardi Breezer Diet Lemon launched into ontrade
23-Jul-2003
Bacardi-Martini has announced the on-trade launch of a diet version of its Breezer brand following a good response in the take home sector.In an...
Spirits group tests two new PPS products
18-Jul-2003
If the premium packaged spirit (PPS) sector bubble has burst, no-one seems to have told Bacardi Brown-Forman (BBF).Despite evidence that the market...
Diageo cuts prices of alcopops by 5%
26-Jun-2003
Diageo is to slash the price of its two leading premium-packaged spirit brands, Smirnoff Ice and Archers Aqua, as difficulties in a once thriving PPS...
Will it Twist your arm?
24-Apr-2003
By Claire Hu Bacardi-Martini aims to invigorate an ailing on-trade specialities market with the launch in May of a new fruit-flavoured spirit....
Breezer is given a Twist to lift sales
23-Apr-2003
Bacardi-Martini has expanded its Bacardi Breezer concept into both the shots and shooter sector and the speciality spirits market in the hope of...
Many thought the budget duty hike on PPSs would seriously hu
20-Feb-2003
It's been an odd nine months since the premium packaged spirits market was hit with an increase in duty in Chancellor Gordon Brown's budget. Many...
