RTD Cocktails Continue to See Demand
Ready-to-drink wine and liquor cocktails are gaining more ground in c-stores.
Apr 07, 2026
Wine and liquor have been outperforming beer in c-stores in recent years, albeit on a much smaller basis. And looking ahead, the emergence of new product types and innovative packages will likely continue to bode well for the categories.
While wine coolers and cocktails have taken off in c-stores, thanks to convenient, single-serve packages, marketers and c-store operators acknowledge the challenge traditional wine is facing.
“Traditional wine has gotten a little lost in the product mix, specifically in cold boxes,” remarked Herb Smith, vice president, customer development at Gallo. “Some accounts have reduced or removed cold wine, eliminating potential impulse purchases, which led to softer trends in 2025.”
Still, the California wine marketer is heavily investing in its largest brands. “Our partnerships, such as Barefoot and the NFL, Mark West and MLB, and ViBE with Minor League Baseball (MiLB), will be visible in convenience stores,” Smith said.
Keri Weekley, senior category manager at Rusty Lantern Markets in New England, noted that while wine-based ready-to-drink beverages are among the fastest growing alcohol segments in her stores, “larger bottles sell less often. Wine is less of an impulse purchase in convenience stores, and customers often buy wine at grocery or liquor stores instead.”
Wine cooler/cocktails such as Gallo’s Beach Juice and Anheuser-Busch’s recently acquired BeatBox, packaged in Tetra Paks, have brought excitement to the c-store wine category. “The curious shopper has gravitated to this style of product due to the lively packaging, inventive flavors and accessible price points,” said Smith.
Similarly for the liquor category, prepared cocktails and small packs are getting the most attention. (According to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2024 Data, average monthly per-store sales of liquor increased to $4,222.)
Betsy Griffin, vice president, North America strategy at Suntory Global Spirits, reported that sales of the company’s full-strength liquor in 200 ml sizes and below increased in 2025 while 375 ml and larger sizes were flat to slightly down. “With consumers continuing to be stretched for time and money, c-stores have done a good job capturing sales from large format retailers,” Griffin said.
Packages like 50 ml are providing c-stores with incremental purchases to products like beer and RTDs, she added. Overall, according to Smith, some 2.3 million new buyers “gravitated to small-size spirits” in 2025.
“RTD products are continuing to grow in our locations,” said Sean Bumgarner, vice president of Scrivener Oil Co., which operates Signal Food Stores in Missouri. In fact, the stores have even started to receive requests for non-alcoholic mocktails, he noted. Leading spirits-based prepared cocktails include top-selling High Noon from Gallo, A-B’s Cutwater, and the emerging -196 vodka seltzer from Suntory.
Smith and Griffin say that with the brands now established, packaging options are expanding, including the growing popularity of prepared cocktails as single serves. “We forecast continued strength in spirits-based RTDs as retailers expand package offerings,” the Gallo executive remarked.
Indeed, wine and liquor in c-stores show even more potential, Smith said. “The role convenience stores play in consumers’ daily lives has dramatically changed,” he explained. “Due to economic challenges, consumers make fewer trips.” But when they do stop for gas or coffee, they find they can get more out of the stop by picking up wine and spirits. Having the right products available—whether they are full bottles, minis, multipacks of prepared cocktails or single serves—can be a huge opportunity for c-stores.
Read about how c-stores retain the No. 1 status for beer sales among brick-and-mortar retail in the April 2026 issue of NACS Magazine feature “Beer Maintains C-Store Clout.”
Join your peers April 14-16 in Schaumburg, Illinois, at the NACS State of the Industry Summit to learn how the packaged beverage category performed in c-stores in 2025.
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