As crowded as the ready-to-drink (RTD) category is becoming, brands are still managing to gain traction with consumers. Earlier this year, entrepreneur Kylie Jenner launched canned vodka soda brand Sprinter, which has been doing quite well since its inception.
In its first month since launching on March 21, Sprinter has shipped over 140,000 cases and is available in over 10,000 retailers and bars across the U.S., according to the company. Chandra Richter, Sprinter’s head of product development and supply chain, worked with Jenner for over a year to create the perfect formula that consumers now know and love.
“Sprinter’s team reached out to me to get some initial feedback on what the flavors should be and which fruits we should target,” says Richter. “I had been working in the cocktail space for quite some time and had done a ton of research on the category, so I had a good idea on which fruits we should use and matched that with people’s preferences.”
Once they put together the fruit profiles, Richter explains how they began tasting a variety of options, ultimately landing on four flavors: Black Cherry, Peach, Grapefruit and Lime.
Sprinting Through Production Processes
With a Ph.D. in molecular biology and more than two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry at companies like E&J Gallo Winery and Drinkworks, Richter’s experience helped create a successful launch for Sprinter.
“Having the experience helped me know what consumers already want in this space,” she says. “We have done a ton of consumer research in this category, even for other brands. With the accelerated timeline we had to launch Sprinter, having all of those connections with suppliers and manufacturers really helped to drive everything forward to meet our launch goals.”
Even though Richter’s experience certainly helped streamline the canned beverage’s production process, a successful launch doesn’t come without issues.
“It’s challenging to develop something new,” she explains. “We did a lot of rounds of tastings and worked really hard to perfect the profile we were targeting with the right level of sweetness and fruitiness. It definitely took some time and effort.”
Combining Skills for Sprinter’s Success
With the RTD category becoming increasingly saturated with a plethora of delicious canned cocktails, both Jenner and Richter knew they needed to find creative ways to make Sprinter stand out on shelves.
“She’s such a brilliant business woman and really knows her brand, her space and her consumers. I just had to learn all of those things and work hard to deliver and meet expectations, which I think we did,” Richter explains of Jenner. “Our beverages are really good and the customer feedback has been phenomenal.”
Combining both Jenner’s business background and Richter’s experience in the beverage alcohol space, together, the duo are helping build a fan base for Sprinter. Richter helped curate a fruity and sessionable canned cocktail, coming in at 4.5% ABV, and Jenner is using her social media powers to spread the word.
“The posts Kylie is making on social media are amazing,” comments Richter. “And it’s really fun to see that fire burn through. So many other people are grabbing her posts and then reposting on their own pages. Also the amount of taste tests that consumers have organically done and posted about is phenomenal. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
A Fruitful Future
Even though Sprinter just launched a few months ago, with the success the brand has already seen, Richter says they are excited to be debuting additional flavors in the future.
“I’m super excited about our innovation roadmap. We have one SKU available right now with four flavors, but there are plans to launch more,” she notes. “I’m already tasting through some new flavor options, so we are ready. I’m super excited about what’s coming up.”
