RTS brand Weekend finds success in non-cocktail venues
Belgian ready-to-serve (RTS) brand Weekend has seen an uptick in listings at venues that historically never had a cocktail programme.
“Nothing about the product changed in those two years. What changed is that hospitality ran out of staff. The category did not win an argument. The market moved underneath it.”
Nine months ago, RTS cocktail brand Weekend, based in Ghent, Belgium, entered into an exclusive distribution deal with Dutch distributor A Brand New Day, whose portfolio also includes Jack Daniel’s, Disaronno, Cointreau and The Dalmore.
Since then, the partnership has spotted a key opportunity for Weekend’s RTS serves in venues outside of cocktail bars. Instead, the brand has seen unprecedented demand from cafés, restaurants, and hotel groups.
Furthermore, Felix Höfte, co-founder and CEO of Weekend, said venues were not removing existing listings to make room for Weekend, but adding the RTS options to their offerings.
Höfte said: “That is the part distributors tend to miss. The assumption is that RTS takes volume away from something else on the back bar.
“What we see is a venue saying yes to an order it used to say no to. A terrace on a Saturday with two people working cannot build an Espresso Martini from scratch, so the guest gets a beer instead. That order was never counted as a loss because it never existed on paper.”
Weekend credited A Brand New Day’s commitment to offering short explanations and training sessions to venues as part of the appeal, and the success it has experienced during the partnership so far.
Sampling has become ‘the most reliable route to a listing’, Weekend said.
Across its portfolio, the Pornstar Martini is the biggest SKU by volume, followed by the Espresso Martini, Amaretto Sour, Lazy Red Cheeks, and Mojito.
Furthermore, the Pornstar Martini is the biggest seller in the alcohol-free range.
Carlo van Overveld, owner and managing director of A Brand New Day, commented: “The future of RTS is not just convenience, but enabling quality at scale.
“As cocktail culture continues to grow and labour challenges remain, Weekend Cocktails can help ensure that every hospitality venue in the Netherlands is able to serve high-quality cocktails consistently and efficiently. This makes Weekend Cocktails one of the key drivers of accessible premiumisation and category growth.”
Van Overveld added that the opportunity for RTS cocktails – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic – lies in helping more consumers enjoy cocktails with ease across more occasions.
Weekend first connected with A Brand New Day for the first time during Bar Convent Berlin two years ago. However, Höfte said the brand spent €28,000 (around US$32,000) to be at the fair, but secured no distribution agreements, as Weekend was deemed ‘interesting and premature in equal measure’.
Höfte added: “Nothing about the product changed in those two years. What changed is that hospitality ran out of staff. The category did not win an argument. The market moved underneath it.”
Weekend’s portfolio is currently available across Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark and Spain.
The brand is eager to enter Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Greece with the right distribution partners. It will return to Bar Convent Berlin this month (12-14 October) at stand 18C28.
