Most people who want to start a drinks brand spend years convincing themselves it's not the right time. We'd argue 2026 is close to the best it's ever been.

Not because it's easy — it isn't. Margins are tight, retail is competitive, and building something that lasts takes real work. But the conditions right now are genuinely different, and if you've been sitting on an idea, it's worth understanding why.

01   The Market Has Already Done the Hard Work

Reason 001: Consumers are already converted

A decade ago, RTDs - ready-to-drink canned cocktails and beverages — were a novelty. Today, they're a category. The UK canned drinks market is growing at 16.2% annually through to 2030. That's not a trend. That's a structural shift in how people drink. You're not entering an emerging market. You're entering an established one with room to grow.

The education has been done. People understand what a canned cocktail is. They know what to do with it. Your job is to give them a reason to choose yours which is a far easier problem than convincing them the format exists.

"The best time to start a drinks brand was five years ago. The second best time is right now - before the window tightens."

02   The Infrastructure Has Never Been Better

Reason 002: You don't need a factory. You need the right partner.

Ten years ago, getting a drink canned at small volume was genuinely difficult. Minimum order quantities were punishing, lead times were long, and the co-packing industry wasn't built to serve small brands. That has fundamentally changed. Facilities like ours — built specifically for independent brands - can get you from recipe to can in a fraction of the time it used to take, at volumes that make commercial sense for an early-stage brand.

This matters because the capital bar to entry is lower. You don't need to build infrastructure. You don't need to own equipment. You need a good recipe, a clear brand, and the right production partner. The rest is solvable.

03   Retail Is More Open Than It Looks

Reason 003: Buyers are actively looking for new brands

There's a common assumption that retail is a closed door — that the shelf is already decided. That's not quite right. Buyers at Waitrose, Whole Foods, Selfridges, and independents across the UK are consistently looking for differentiated product. The drinks category is one of the most actively refreshed in grocery retail. What they want is a brand that looks considered, has a clear story, and can demonstrate demand. That's achievable for an early-stage brand with the right positioning.

The route to retail isn't always through a traditional distributor anymore, either. Direct relationships, strong social proof, and festival presence can open doors that would have been firmly closed five years ago.

04   Low-and-No Has Permanently Changed the Landscape

Reason 004: The non-alcoholic opportunity is still wide open

The low and no-alcohol movement isn't a phase. It's a permanent reconfiguration of how a significant portion of the population drinks — particularly under-35s. And the non-alcoholic and low-ABV canned drinks market is still, comparatively, underdeveloped. If your idea sits here, you're not competing for a shrinking slice of an old market. You're building in a category that's still writing its own rules.

This also opens up audiences that traditional drinks brands never reached: sober curious consumers, pregnant or breastfeeding parents, athletes, younger consumers who never really drank heavily to begin with. New markets, not marginalised ones.

05   You Can Test Before You Commit

Reason 005: Trial runs exist. Use them.

One of the biggest fears early-stage founders have is committing thousands of cans to a recipe or a brand that hasn't been market-tested. The good news: you don't have to. Trial production runs — smaller volumes designed to put real product in real hands before you commit to a full run — are now accessible. You can get cans out to DTC, festivals, and independent stockists to validate the concept before you scale.

The data you gather from a 1,000-can trial run is worth more than any market research report. Real people, real feedback, real proof of concept. Build from there.

There will never be a perfect moment. But the conditions in 2026 — an established consumer appetite, accessible production infrastructure, genuinely open retail channels, and a non-alcoholic category still finding its shape — are as close to aligned as they've been.

If you have a drink idea that you believe in, the question isn't whether the market is ready. It's whether you are.

We'd love to help you find out.

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