Convenience and value continue to shape innovation across the drinks industry, with brands introducing larger formats and multi-serve options designed to fit more easily into everyday routines.
As consumers seek products that deliver both practicality and quality, manufacturers are adapting formats to encourage repeat purchase and at-home consumption.
Health and wellness remain key growth drivers, particularly in categories linked to immunity support, natural ingredients and reduced sugar. Functional beverages continue to attract investment as brands expand their offerings to meet growing demand for products that combine taste with perceived health benefits.
Premiumisation is also influencing activity across alcoholic drinks, with producers focusing on craftsmanship, provenance and distinctive production methods. Heritage and quality sourcing are increasingly being used to differentiate products in a competitive marketplace.
Alongside these trends, sustainability and supply chain transparency remain important themes. Brands are placing greater emphasis on responsible sourcing, environmental commitments and closer control of production processes as consumers demand more visibility into how products are made.
MadTree Sway
MadTree Brewing and High Bank Distillery have partnered to launch Sway Apple Pomegranate, a limited-edition ready-to-drink (RTD) vodka cocktail now available across Ohio and Kentucky.
The collaboration brings together MadTree’s Sway RTD platform and High Bank’s award-winning vodka, while highlighting the companies’ shared focus on sustainability and community investment.
The 4.5% ABV beverage combines High Bank Vodka with apple and pomegranate flavours in a lightly carbonated format. Distilled with organic wheat and Ohio apples, High Bank Vodka was named World’s Best Vodka at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Packaged in 12oz cans and sold in four-packs, the cocktail contains 90 calories, 1g of carbohydrates, no added sugar and is gluten-free.
The launch also underscores the environmental commitments of both businesses, with each company donating 1% of sales to local non-profit organisations.
According to MadTree CEO Rhiannon Hoeweler, the collaboration aims to support initiatives such as tree planting, waterway protection and community projects, while High Bank co-founder and master distiller Adam Hines said the product offers consumers a new way to enjoy the distillery’s flagship vodka.
Sway Apple Pomegranate is available at MadTree and High Bank locations, as well as selected retailers throughout Ohio and Kentucky. The seasonal release will remain on sale through the autumn period while stocks last.
Innocent Dosing
Innocent has expanded its functional drinks range with the launch of new 420ml multi-serve dosing bottles, designed to give consumers a week’s worth of daily wellness shots in a single format.
The move builds on the brand’s existing 60ml shot range and aims to make regular consumption more convenient while offering retailers a higher-value purchase option.
Each 420ml bottle contains seven servings and is positioned as an at-home solution for shoppers looking to establish a more consistent wellness routine.
The range launches with two variants. Fiery Ginger contains 18% ginger alongside high-potency vitamins C and D and is expected to serve as the core volume driver.
Ginger & Turmeric blends ginger, turmeric, apple and lemon with vitamins A and D, targeting consumers seeking broader immunity support.
Available in fridge-friendly packaging, the new format is intended to help shoppers stock up on functional drinks while providing retailers with an expanded offering in the health and wellness segment.
Moju Immunity
Moju is expanding its UK functional shots portfolio with two new additions aimed at capitalising on growing demand for immunity-focused beverages and at-home consumption.
Available from September 16, the launches include a new Elderberry Immunity blend and the brand’s largest Ginger Dosing Bottle to date, further strengthening its position in a category now worth over £105m and growing at a three-year CAGR of 47%.
The new Elderberry Immunity Dosing Bottle broadens MOJU’s immunity range with a fruit-led recipe combining black elderberries, Peruvian ginger and strawberry.
Packaged in a 420ml bottle containing seven 60ml servings, the product delivers vitamin C from elderberries alongside the recommended daily intake of vitamin D3 from seaweed extract. Designed to offer a milder alternative to the brand’s core ginger range, it scores two out of five on MOJU’s spice scale and responds to rising consumer interest in functional benefits, with demand for health-focused drinks continuing to increase.
Alongside the launch, MOJU is introducing a 720ml XL Ginger Dosing Bottle containing 12 servings. Priced at £7.99, the format reduces the cost per shot to 67p compared with 85p for the existing seven-shot bottle, while cutting plastic use per serve by 31%.
Plenish Cocoa
Plenish is entering the growing flavoured plant-based milk category with the UK launch of Dark Cocoa and Sea Salt Almond Drink, a new almond-based beverage made with a short list of naturally sourced ingredients including almond, cacao, sea salt and brown sugar.
Available from September via Ocado and the brand’s website, the launch marks Plenish’s first move into flavoured milks and comes as the segment reaches £19.2m in value, growing 12% year-on-year and outpacing the unflavoured market.
Positioned around both taste and transparency, the new product contains 30% less sugar than most chocolate-flavoured plant-based drinks on the UK market, with 3.2g of sugar per 100ml.
The launch is designed to appeal to consumers seeking more indulgent dairy alternatives while avoiding additives, oils and artificial ingredients. According to Plenish, almost a quarter of consumers are actively trying to reduce their sugar intake, creating an opportunity for lower-sugar flavoured options.
Macallan Sherry
The Macallan has expanded its Time: Space Collection with Time: Space Sherry Cask, a 20-year-old single malt Scotch whisky that marks the first release influenced by casks seasoned with Valdespino sherry wine since the sherry producer came under The Macallan’s ownership.
The launch highlights the distiller’s growing control over its sherry seasoning supply chain, from cooperage and seasoning through to whisky maturation and marrying.
Bottled at 44.8% ABV, the whisky follows a two-stage cask journey. After maturing on The Macallan Estate in predominantly European oak sherry seasoned casks, supported by a smaller proportion of American oak, the whisky was married in a selection of the first 200 sherry casks seasoned in The Macallan’s Valdespino bodega in Jerez de la Frontera.
Crafted in the company’s own cooperages and filled during The Macallan’s bicentenary year in 2024, the casks represent a significant milestone in the brand’s long-term sherry strategy.
According to Master Whisky Maker Kirsteen Campbell, the release demonstrates the company’s ability to bring together generations of sherry-making expertise with its own whisky-making capabilities.
The whisky offers notes of sherry-soaked raisins, figs, dates, ginger cake, treacle toffee and chocolate-coated cherries, alongside wood spice and espresso characteristics.
