Diageo steers Captain Morgan further into RTD with cocktail launch

Dive Brief:

• Beverage giant Diageo is setting sail with Captain Morgan Sliced, a line of canned malt-based cocktails with 5.8% alcohol by volume. They arrive in four varieties: Pineapple Daiquiri, Strawberry Margarita, Passionfruit Hurricane and Mango Mai Tai. The new line marks the brand’s first foray in the malt alcohol space, according to the company. 
• The brand also launched another product this month, Captain Morgan Sliced Up, which arrives in two flavors inspired by popular cocktails: Long Island Iced Tea and Tropical Hurricane. These offerings are available in 16 and 23.5-ounce cans, according to the press release.
• As young drinkers seek more variety in their beverages, the largest alcohol producers are working to meet the desire for canned cocktails.

Dive Insight:

As the hard seltzer category has plateaued in the last two years after its initial boom, ready-to-drink cocktails have become the focus of many beverage brands looking to obtain a greater chunk of the market. The space is set to be worth $2.3 billion by 2030 and increase at a compound annual growth rate of 14.3%, according to a projection from Vantage Market Research.

Laura Merritt, Diageo’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement the company sought to shake up the canned beverages category with a unique offering.

“We didn’t just want to introduce another new canned drink – we wanted to slice through the ordinary with an offering that compliments the adventurous spirit of our consumers,” said Merritt.

Captain Morgan Sliced is the latest expansion for the brand in the ready-to-drink beverages category, after it launched rum-based premium canned cocktails in collaboration with The Vita Coco Company last year.

With Captain Morgan Sliced, Diageo is giving consumers an offering that does not contain carbonation, a strategy rival Molson Coors is leaning heavily into. The company is set to launch Happy Thursday, a line of fizz-free spiked refreshers created using data from a Gen Z consumer panel. According to Molson Coors, some young drinkers prefer beverages that are less fizzy to avoid bloating or burning.

Soft drink giants are also angling for RTD canned cocktail success. Coca-Cola is aggressively pursuing the category with several products that have launched over the past two years: Simply Spiked beverages made with Molson Coors; the Coca-Cola and Jack Daniel’s cocktail created alongside Brown Forman; and Absolut Vodka with Sprite, in partnership with Pernod Ricard which launched in Europe last month.

A longtime staple of the rum category, Captain Morgan has updated its lineup and refreshed its portfolio in recent years. In 2021, it launched RTD pre-mixed cocktails in 1.75 liter bottles in three varieties — Tropical Punch, Mai Tai and Long Island Iced Tea. And last year the brand updated its flagship product’s formulation, which now contains real Madagascar vanilla.