Tall skinny cans have become a well-known sight in liquor aisles with hard seltzers and other ready-to-drink cocktails now a popular choice among consumers. Some other competitors and niche brands launching RTD cocktails are turning to glass packaging as a sleek yet weighty way to differentiate their beverages.
The RTD segment — which includes alcoholic seltzers, along with hard teas, kombuchas and various cocktails — has grown rapidly in recent years. The beer market’s pullback from glass bottles in some areas has been affecting the glass packaging industry, but producers are optimistic about the future for glass in some of these other beverage categories.
“Consumers perceive products packaged in glass as more premium,” said Alexis Guetzlaff, director of marketing at O-I Glass. As a result, she said, brands aiming for a premium price point are choosing glass over lighter alternatives, even as other beverage brands pivot to other types of packaging.
According to figures from global drinks industry data and insight provider IWSR, RTDs held 12% of market share by volume in the U.S. beverage alcohol market. The volume of U.S. RTD products sold is expected to have a 3% compound annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028. This is down from a 23% CAGR for the category between 2018 and 2023. IWSR said that the decline in the number of new entrants reflects a maturing RTD market.
However, “frequency of consumption is increasing, with 45% of RTD drinkers consuming them every week in 2023 — up from 38% in 2022,” said Adam Rogers, a research director with the firm, via email.
Within this relatively small segment, some producers of premium spirit-based cocktails are keen to differentiate themselves from malt-based RTDs such as hard seltzers. Their desire for a suitable brand appearance is providing some welcome business to glass manufacturers.
“When launching a consumer product in a crowded space — at any price point — it’s important to stand out visually amongst the competition,” said Bart Silvestro, CEO of Via Carota Craft Cocktails, via email.
The company partnered with Stranger & Stranger, a creative design firm specializing in packaging for beverage alcohol brands, to produce what Silvestro calls a “bar cart worthy” product. He felt strongly that glass was the right choice, but said it did have some challenges.
“While relatively easy to find facilities that will package canned products, it’s not as simple when it comes to bottling a single-serve RTD in glass,” said Silvestro.
Barrelsmith, founded in 2010, is known for serving oak barrel-finished craft cocktails, in glass bottles.
Permission granted by Barrelsmith
At Barrelsmith, a business providing RTD cocktails that have been finished in oak barrels, the team shares similar sentiments.
“We’re a premium product, we’re not a value product,” said founder and CEO Matt Ellenthal. “And glass, obviously, from a high ABV perspective, has that association in the consumer’s mind.”
Ellenthal launched his business in 2010, before the category started to boom, and has seen trends shift.
“I think if you look at the evolution of this category over time, you’ll see that there’s really a move toward value pricing,” Ellenthal said. “Some of the ways to achieve that is to go smaller and smaller.”
As some RTD producers are choosing to center canning and single-serving lower ABV beverages, Ellenthal is sticking to producing higher ABV premium beverages. And while Barrelsmith does offer 100-mL bottles either alone or in a variety pack, larger format 750-mL bottles are their focus.
The company works with two different providers for glass. Right now, Barrelsmith is using stock bottles, but is currently working on a custom bottle design. Part of the motivation, Ellenthal said, is to “take it up a notch in terms of the elegance of the packaging.”
In Guetzlaff’s view, premium glass packaging can be an important differentiator.
“We know across the store, consumers can get really overwhelmed with choice,” she said, nothing how an innovative shape can capture a customer’s attention. Guetzlaff cited O-I’s Drinktainer as an example, which offers bars a way to package their own single-serve cocktails on site. Right Coast Spirits Italian Ice will become the first brand to directly market O-I’s straight-walled and wide-mouthed rip cap bottle design.
The elevated experience that glass provides is especially important in the bar and restaurant environment, according to Guetzlaff. “As we see these brands grow in the retail space, they’re limited if they only have cans in the on-premise sales component, which is where a lot of consumers try something new.”
It’s not only RTD alcoholic beverages that could provide a boost for glass. While sparkling water is predominantly packaged in cans and plastic bottles, Fortune Business Insights projects the glass bottle segment for this market is also expected to grow in the coming years.
Companies producing non-alcoholic beverages and mixers are also selecting glass for a premium look and feel. For example, premium sparkling beverage maker Betty Buzz, one client of O-I, is using stubby glass bottles for their mixers, such as tonic water and ginger beer.
As categories in the alcoholic beverages market blur, there continue to be new opportunities for glass producers. Guetzlaff sees “so much creativity in the beverage space overall, and I think that’s really exciting,” she said.
