How Tequila and hard seltzer trends are boosting ranch waters’ popularity

Consumer drinks trends for Tequila and hard seltzers are reportedly converging to fuel the rise of ranch water sales across the US.

Texas Ranch Water Co. CMO Joey Parris revealed how “the growth of ranch water in the marketplace is the culmination of three major consumer trends that we have seen in the past couple of years.”

According to Parris, the global Tequila boom, paired with the seltzer craze and better-for-you categories, made for the “perfect storm” for the new drink category and “being an agave-based product that is light and refreshing with only 100 calories and 2 grams of carbs is an easy choice for consumers in this market”.

Cara Piotrowski, who works in client insights at Information Resources Inc based in Chicago agreed and explained: “Canned ranch waters tend to have a similar taste profile as the original Texas-based ranch water, which lends itself to a more authentic cocktail experience” and added how “some brands also offer fewer calories or carbs compared to top hard seltzers on the market.”

The ranch waters, typically made with Tequila, has now reportedly taken off and quickly spread from its west Texas origin across the US.

Liz Paquette, head of consumer insights at Boston-based Drizly observed: “Within the hard seltzer category on Drizly, popular ranch water brands like Lone River have experienced growth over the past few years — with Lone River scaling 700% of share from 2020 to 2022 to date. Distribution has also increased significantly year-over-year for Lone River’s variety pack; in January 2021, it was available in two states, and in January 2022, it was available in 28.”

Paquette pointed out the obvious symbiosis and described how “a classic ranch water features Tequila as the spirit base of the cocktail” and “Tequila has been the fastest-growing spirits category in terms of share gains on Drizly over the past few years” showing how the trend has taken root and since seen a conversion to sales.

According to the IWSR in its article, titled ‘Why have Diageo and Heineken invested in Ranch Water?’ the research analyst is company stated: “The growing reach of ranch water has been enabled by a host of ancillary trends, most notably: the continued growth of hard seltzers and RTDs; the strong performance of Tequila; demand for refreshing cocktails that are easy to make at home; and low-calorie/low-sugar beverages”.

Additionally, it added: “Spying the opportunity presented by ranch water, in February 2021, Dutch brewer Heineken unveiled a line extension for its Dos Equis lager brand: Dos Equis Ranch Water Hard Seltzer. Then, in March 2021 Diageo acquired Texan producer Far West Spirits, maker of Lone River Ranch Water hard seltzer. With the backing of these companies and access to their extensive distribution networks, there is potential for ranch water to reach new consumers across the US and perhaps further afield”.

The IWSR also observed that “for Tequila brands, ranch water presents an opportunity to demonstrate relevance and ramp up consumer interest” showing that there is still room for each of the categories to grow further and even lean upon one another to boost visability and satisfy consumer demand.