Ready To Drink cocktails: How to elevate your products with on-trend flavors

In a booming beverage market, Ready To Drink (RTD) cocktails are emerging as a strategic segment with great potential. So much so, in fact, that for food manufacturers, developing flavors tailored to these new drinks represents a key opportunity.

As a food and beverage manufacturer, you’re looking to enter the RTD cocktail segment or strengthen your market position. Metarom, a specialist in the creation of food flavorings and caramels, presents the dynamics and challenges of this market and supports you in developing exciting signature flavor profiles for your RTD beverages.

What is a Ready To Drink (RTD) cocktail?

RTD cocktails — short for ready-to-drink — refer to pre-mixed alcoholic beverages that are ready to be consumed without any prior preparation. In cans or bottles, they combine practicality with instant pleasure. Initially seen as a back-up solution, this category quickly gained legitimacy, particularly with the rise of hard seltzers. Made with alcohol and natural flavors, these sparkling beverages have quickly gained popularity among consumers, especially for their lightness and refreshing character.

Ready To Drink cocktails: a changing market

After receiving a significant boost during the pandemic, RTD cocktails have managed to win lasting consumer appeal. Today, this segment is reaching maturity in Europe, but still holds strong growth potential—particularly through premium product variations.

The numbers confirm it: in 2024, premium RTD cocktails represent the fastest-growing segment. Consumers are now looking for products that combine convenience with great taste. This desire for accessible sophistication opens up new opportunities for brands that can craft beverages combining premium spirits with complex flavor profiles.

Flavor: The key differentiator in the RTD cocktail market

Flavor plays a crucial role in an RTD cocktail. Indeed, for these beverages, flavors do more than evoke classic cocktails—they help recreate a complete and balanced sensory experience, with authentic notes and consistent impressions, whether alcoholic or not.

That’s why at Metarom, we develop complex signature flavor profiles for your RTD beverages—alcoholic or not—to transform a simple ready-to-drink product into an unforgettable taste experience.

To achieve this, we draw on our in-depth expertise in sweet flavors, and work closely with your R&D and marketing teams. In addition, we also offer a range of taste-enhancing flavor boosters to elevate the sensory impact of your creations.

RTD cocktail trends in 2025

RTD cocktails are evolving in step with consumer preferences. Thus, in 2025, the most fashionable Ready To Drink cocktails are those featuring the following four major flavor families:

Unexpected and innovative flavors—like fruity pairings (peach & basil, raspberry & yuzu), herbal, spice or tea infusions (ginger, black tea, rosemary), and floral or exotic notes—are also standing out.

By keeping a close eye on market trends, Metarom can help you create flavor signatures that are perfectly adapted to your products and that will win over consumers.

Non-alcoholic RTD cocktails: A market space ready to be claimed

Non-alcoholic RTD cocktails are also experiencing notable growth, although most current offerings still focus primarily on flavored sparkling or tonic beverages. Yet there’s real potential to develop non-alcoholic RTD cocktails that deliver a more authentic and complex taste experience—closely resembling their alcoholic counterparts.

This is fertile ground for brand innovation. Thanks to our expertise in formulation and sensory perception—as well as solutions like Actiboost, which enhances sweet or alcoholic notes without increasing sugar or alcohol content—we can help create 0% RTD cocktails that are just as satisfying and refined as their alcoholic counterparts.

RTD cocktails are more than a passing trend—they’re becoming a lasting part of the refreshment beverage landscape. Manufacturers therefore have every interest in positioning themselves or strengthening their position in this market by focusing on beverages that stand out for their taste quality and the originality of their recipes. Metarom can help you create unforgettable sensory experiences that will win over consumers and build loyalty.