From Concept to Can: Launching an RTD Brand

The ready-to-drink (RTD) category has exploded in the UK and globally. Canned cocktails, hard seltzers, botanical spritzers — consumers want convenient, quality drinks, and brands are racing to meet that demand. But getting from a recipe to a shelf-ready, commercially produced can is harder than it looks.

Here's what the process actually looks like — and where most brands hit trouble.

Stage 1: Recipe Development

Most RTD brands start with a home recipe or a concept. The challenge is translating that into something that scales, stays shelf-stable, and meets regulatory requirements.

Key considerations:

• ABV consistency — You need to hit your labelled ABV accurately at every batch. That requires proper measuring, dilution, and process control.
• Carbonation — Getting the right carbonation level, and keeping it consistent from the first can to the last, requires precise equipment and process design.
• Shelf life — Formulation matters. pH, water activity, preservatives — these aren't afterthoughts, they're engineering decisions.

Stage 2: Choosing Your Production Route

There are three main options for RTD production:

1. Co-packing — You hand your recipe to a contract manufacturer. Lower capex, faster to market. But you're dependent on their capacity, their pricing, and their quality control.

2. In-house small-scale — A canning line and blending tank in your own facility. Higher capex, total control. Works once you have the volume to justify it.

3. Hybrid — Start with co-packing to prove the concept, then bring production in-house as volumes grow. This is often the most sensible path.

We help clients evaluate all three options based on their volumes, timelines, and budgets.

Stage 3: Equipment and Commissioning

If you're going in-house, the equipment decisions are critical. A canning line that doesn't integrate cleanly with your blending and carbonation setup creates bottlenecks. We design the whole flow before any equipment is purchased.

We've specified and commissioned in-house RTD production lines for clients scaling from 10,000 to 500,000 cans per year. The approach is the same at every scale: design for the product, commission properly, and build in quality checkpoints.

Where Brands Get It Wrong

The most common mistake we see: buying equipment before finalising the recipe. Your canning line specification depends on your product — carbonation levels, viscosity, fill temperature, container type. Get these locked down first.

The second most common mistake: underestimating commissioning time. A new line doesn't run at target efficiency on day one. Budget for testing, adjustment, and training.

Talk to us before you commit to equipment. A single consultation often saves months of rework.