Ready To Drink: How Pre-Prepared Beverages Are Shaping Modern Consumption and Sales Strategies
Ready To Drink (RTD) products — whether beverages or liquid consumables — are packaged, pre-formulated items designed for immediate consumption without preparation or mixing. Unlike traditional products that require blending, brewing, or other preparation steps, RTDs offer consumers maximum convenience, portability, and accessibility in today’s fast-paced lifestyle.
In both non-alcoholic and alcoholic sectors, RTD beverages have emerged as a significant trend. Non-alcoholic RTDs include iced teas, coffees, functional waters, energy drinks, and dairy-based drinks — all designed to meet diverse lifestyle needs from on-the-go refreshment to wellness-boosting functionality.
In the alcoholic category, premixed RTD cocktails and flavored beverages have carved out substantial market share by providing a bar-quality experience in a can or bottle, appealing especially to convenience-oriented consumers.
For sales and quoting strategies, this trend presents unique opportunities and challenges:
Convenience as Value: RTD products inherently deliver high perceived value because they simplify the consumer experience. This impacts pricing strategies, bundling opportunities, and point-of-sale messaging.
Product Diversification: Brands that expand across flavored, functional, and premium RTD lines can capture wider demographic segments.
Dynamic Quoting Needs: With an increasingly diverse RTD portfolio — from energy drinks to craft cocktails — sales processes must adapt with flexible quoting structures that reflect product complexity and customer preferences.
Channel Expansion: RTDs are distributed across supermarkets, convenience stores, digital marketplaces, and quick commerce platforms, each with its own quoting, logistics, and margin considerations.