Tesco has highlighted that ready-to-drink cocktails are the fastest-growing area of the UK drinks market.

The retailer has highlighted that demand for ready-to-drink beverages has grown 20% in the last two years. This is mirroring trends seen in the supermarkets’ luxury prepared meals, with rising costs causing consumers to choose “premium quality” food and drink to eat at home.

Tesco ready-to-drink buyer Marie Cook said:“Ready-made cocktails to drink at home have really come into their own now, and it’s not surprising to see demand grow so much because of the great quality and increased variety available.

“The UK’s ready-made cocktail revamp began during lockdown when some clever businesses formed to seize the opportunity to create premium, bar-quality drinks for shoppers to enjoy in their homes. And this sector of the drinks industry has continued to grow from there, especially as a quality cocktail can cost anything up to £15 in a trendy bar.”  

According to the retailer, a brand that has helped increase demand is Moth, a London-based firm, which has seen demand for its products grow by nearly 60% in the last year and nearly 170% in the last two years.

Moth co-founder Rob Wallis said,“We wanted to make cocktails as easy as a can of beer. So we set out to replicate the quality of cocktails we enjoyed in premium cocktail bars in an accessible format.

“People thought we were crazy to launch a Margarita in a can at £4, but now we sell one every five seconds in UK supermarkets! And our latest cocktails – MOTH: Passionfruit Martini and MOTH: Spicy Margarita – have been our most successful launches yet.

“We were the first company to take the ready-made cocktail in a tin concept to the next level in the UK, and we must be doing something right as this premium sector of the RTD category has now rocketed to a 500 per cent growth in the last two years.”

Tesco’s ready-to-drink cocktail range has expanded to 20 products.

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