This advertising content was produced in collaboration with SevenFifty and our partner, Faux Pas.
The ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail category has exploded in recent years. Driven largely by canned, single-serve SKUs, total volume sales ballooned by 226 percent between 2016 and 2021, according to Mintel.
That surge was accelerated by pandemic-era on-premise shutdowns, but the trend owes its momentum to increasing consumer demand for convenience without a compromise on quality. Those consumers are largely millennial and Gen Z, which is what makes smartly marketed and targeted new launches, like Faux Pas, ready-made success stories.
Debuting in time for summer, Faux Pas is a crisp, clean line of canned cocktails made with either real vodka or real tequila—clocking in at a quaffable 8% ABV. The products are all gluten-free and absent of any artificial flavors. The release represents a first-of-its-kind collaboration between beverage industry innovators and a digital platform. Spirit of Gallo co-founded Faux Pas with Betches, the digitally-native publishers responsible for some of Instagram’s most sharable and culturally relevant memes.
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Over the past decade, Betches has built a community of more than 48 million followers—mostly millennial and Gen Z women. The platform will bring its playful marketing savvy to the RTD space to deliver canned cocktails intended to be as refreshing in the messaging as they are on the palate.
“We pride ourselves in knowing our audience and what they want,” says Jordana Abraham, the CIO of Betches. “They love to be social and to be on top of whatever is trending. Canned cocktails represent the pinnacle of these attributes, so it was a natural fit for our first consumer product.”
The first line will feature popular blended drinks—think vodka sodas and Margaritas—but served with a twist. The Vodka Mule, for example, is enhanced by the addition of Bartlett pear. Tequila and Soda incorporates grapefruit and orange for a bittersweet edge. All of it is packaged with an attention to detail designed to be visually engaging (read: Instagrammable) from the bright colors of the can to its cheeky brand copy.
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“The flavor descriptions are a comedic take on the more serious descriptions you’ll see at tastings, and we feel like they will really resonate with our audience, who are always down to have a good time and to show up as the best versions of themselves while not taking life too seriously,” says Sami Sage, the CCO of Betches. “We knew exactly what was missing from the category: something fun, delicious, funny, and relatable—everything they will get from Faux Pas.” And the product is optimized to be shared online by their millions of followers, essentially promoting itself.
Combining conveniently rendered, ingredient-driven beverages with social media superstardom is a proven template for success. There’s nothing new about that. But Faux Pas exists as a more organic assembly of its parts. Its consumer base is representative of the exact demographic driving the RTD cocktail boom. And the Betches team has demonstrated a steadfast willingness to meet that audience where they are.
“Ultimately, a great-tasting canned cocktail, grounded in realness, answers their need from the alcohol space,” adds Sage. “But it also provides convenience so they can get back to what they are doing: spending time with friends—and sharing it on Instagram!”
