RTD Sales Surge in Britain

Ready-to-drink beverages are taking a larger share of the British spirits market as shoppers look for cheaper options and smaller packages, according to new industry data that also shows continued pressure on traditional spirits sales.

Sales of RTDs in the UK off-trade, which includes shops and supermarkets, reached £704 million last year, up 17% in value and 12% in volume from a year earlier, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said in its new Sip 2 report. The report is based on NIQ data measured through Dec. 27, 2025.

The gains come as the broader spirits category weakened. In the three months through Jan. 3, 2026, spirits sales in the UK off-trade fell by £40 million, according to the report. The association said 44% of RTD sales were coming from drinkers switching away from spirits.

RTDs include spirits and mixers in cans, canned cocktails, bottled cocktails and hard seltzers. The category grew during the pandemic, when many consumers made cocktails at home, but the WSTA said cost-of-living pressures have since pushed more shoppers toward lower-priced alternatives.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, said the latest figures showed “a bright spot” in a market that has been hit by higher taxes and weaker demand. He said the UK spirits sector had seen “plummeting sales” after the biggest duty increase in almost 50 years in August 2023 and argued that further tax rises were reducing revenue for the Treasury.

The shift is also showing up in government tax receipts. HM Revenue & Customs reported that spirits excise duty revenue fell 2.3% to £4.06 billion for the 2025/26 year.

Industry executives have increasingly warned that repeated duty increases are changing consumer behavior and squeezing producers at a time when RTDs are gaining ground in retail channels across Britain.