The beverage import industry, covered.
Industry trends, partnership announcements, market data, and perspectives from RTM's years building brands in the US wholesale channel.
No posts in this category yet.
The RTM Imports and Yobo Spirits Partnership
A Korean American Story, Bottled Yobo Spirits was founded in 2015 by Carolyn Kim, a Los Angeles-born lawyer who set out to create the first modern, American-made soju.…
Gen Z Isn’t Drinking Less, They’re Drinking Differently
Consumption is moving away from the living room and toward the moment it’s shared. The decline isn’t in alcohol interest, it’s in solitary drinking. Gen Z and Millennial…
Soju 101 for US Retailers: Wine-Based, Sparkling, Premium, and What’s Next
Not all soju is the same spirit, and treating it as one generic shelf tag is costing retailers turnover they don’t realize they’re losing. The distinction that matters…
The Convenience Store Opportunity: Why Asian RTDs Belong in the Cooler
Convenience retail rewards whoever reads the shopper fastest, and right now most cold boxes are reading last year’s shopper. Soju and wine-based RTDs are gaining ground in small-format…
From Warehouse to Shelf: How Three-Tier Distribution Gets Your Product to Market
A finished, approved product sitting in a warehouse isn’t the same as a product on a shelf, and the distance between the two is where most launch timelines…
What “Three-Tier Distribution” Actually Means for Importers Like RTM
Every state in the US enforces the same basic rule: producers cannot sell directly to retailers. Everything moves through a licensed wholesaler first. For an importer bringing spirits…
Why Asian Beverages Are America’s Fastest-Growing Import Category
Soju and wine-based RTDs stopped being a niche shelf item a while ago. What’s changed is that major chains are now treating them as a core category worth…
Building a Private Label Beverage Brand: Why Leading Retailers Are Doing It Now
Private label in beverage alcohol has crossed a threshold. What was once a secondary strategy for category managers looking to fill shelf gaps has become a primary commercial…
From Brief to Shelf: How RTM’s Custom Label Process Works
Building a proprietary beverage brand is one of the most commercially effective strategies available to U.S. retailers, hospitality groups, and restaurant chains. A well-executed custom label program delivers…
Wine-Based Soju: The Regulatory Distinction That Opens Every Channel
Wine-based soju can be sold through all U.S. channels — not just those licensed for spirits. That single regulatory distinction changes everything about how the category penetrates retail…
The Three-Tier System Explained: What Every Foreign Producer Needs to Know
The United States is the largest beverage alcohol market in the world. It is also one of the most structurally complex. Foreign producers who approach U.S. market entry…
How RTM Identifies a Category Before the Market Does
RTM's track record of entering emerging beverage categories ahead of the mainstream is not accidental. It is the result of a repeatable methodology — combining distributor data, AI-assisted…