Southern Glazer’s targets 25% to 30% of revenue from beer, ready-to-drink products, non-alcoholic beverages

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is aiming to make beer, ready-to-drink products and non-alcoholic beverages a much larger part of its business, in a sign that one of the country’s biggest beverage distributors wants to expand well beyond its traditional wine and spirits base.

According to Beer Business Daily, company executives said at an industry conference that Southern Glazer’s wants those three categories to account for 25% to 30% of revenue, up from about 10% now.

The target points to a major portfolio shift for Southern Glazer’s, which has long been identified mainly with wine and distilled spirits distribution in the United States. Raising the contribution of beer, RTD cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks to as much as nearly one-third of sales would require a much broader presence in categories that have been gaining attention as consumer demand changes.

Ready-to-drink beverages have become an important area for suppliers and distributors because they appeal to consumers looking for convenience and familiar spirits-based brands in canned or bottled formats. Non-alcoholic drinks have also drawn more investment across the beverage industry as more consumers seek moderation or avoid alcohol altogether. Beer remains one of the largest beverage alcohol categories in the country, even as growth has become more fragmented across imports, craft brands, flavored malt beverages and other adjacent products.

For Southern Glazer’s, the goal suggests a strategy built on diversification. A broader mix could help reduce dependence on slower segments of the wine market and position the company in categories that are attracting new spending from retailers and suppliers. It would also give the distributor more ways to present itself to stores, restaurants and other accounts as a one-stop route to market across multiple beverage occasions.

That matters beyond one company’s sales mix. If a distributor of Southern Glazer’s scale increases its push into beer, RTDs and non-alcoholic products, it could affect competition among wholesalers and change how brands reach retailers in the U.S. market. Suppliers often depend heavily on distribution networks to secure shelf space, cold-box placement and on-premise access. A larger move by Southern Glazer’s into beer-related channels could create new opportunities for some brands while increasing pressure on incumbent wholesalers in others.

The plan also reflects a broader convergence in the beverage business. The historical lines between beer, wine and spirits have become less rigid as consumer tastes shift and suppliers chase growth across category boundaries. Spirits companies have expanded into canned cocktails. Beer producers have added hard tea, hard seltzer and energy-adjacent products. Non-alcoholic offerings now sit closer to the center of many portfolio strategies than they did a few years ago.

For distributors, those shifts create both an opening and a challenge. Expanding into new categories can provide access to faster-growing segments, but it also requires investment in supplier relationships, sales execution and market-specific compliance. Beer distribution in the United States has its own established competitive structure, and success often depends on local scale, retailer coverage and logistics suited to high-volume, fast-turn products.

Southern Glazer’s has not framed the change as a retreat from wine and spirits. Instead, the revenue target reported by Beer Business Daily suggests the company sees future growth in a more balanced portfolio that includes products tied to convenience, moderation and cross-category shopping habits.

Whether the company reaches the 25% to 30% range will depend on how quickly it can build or deepen positions in beer, RTDs and alcohol-free beverages. But the message from management is clear: Southern Glazer’s wants those categories to move from a relatively small share of the business to a central part of its revenue base.