Vodkade is making grape a permanent part of its lineup after the flavor quickly became the St. Louis-based brand’s top seller. Originally introduced as a limited-time offering in June, Zero Sugar Grape is now the fastest-moving product in the brand’s portfolio, earning a permanent spot just four months after its debut.
When Vodkade launched, it introduced a new category of ready-to-drink cocktails inspired by classic sports drinks. The non-carbonated vodka drinks combine real vodka, natural fruit flavors and electrolytes, bringing the familiar taste of a sports drink to an adult beverage. While grape was missing from the category’s original lineup of fruit punch, orange and lemon-lime, Vodkade saw an opportunity to fill the gap.
The brand initially left the flavor’s future up to customer demand. That response was strong enough to make the decision easy, with distributors across all of Vodkade’s markets picking up the new flavor.
“We said we’d let drinkers decide, and they decided fast,” said Doug Mars, director of business development at Vodkade. “Grape is the flavor people kept asking for by name, so taking it away was never really an option. It’s part of the family.”
Zero Sugar Grape joins Fruit Punch, Orange, Berry Cherry and Lemon-Lime in the brand’s Zero Sugar lineup. Each 12-ounce can contains 4.5% alcohol by volume, 90 calories, zero grams of sugar and zero grams of carbohydrates. The gluten-free, non-carbonated cocktail is available in eight-packs wherever Vodkade is sold.
The addition comes amid a year of expansion for the brand. This summer, Vodkade entered 12 new markets, extending its reach beyond its established presence in the Midwest, South and Southern California. New markets include Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia and Washington, D.C., along with its first push into the Northeast, adding New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Maryland.
With distribution now spanning 32 states, Vodkade is continuing to introduce its lineup to new audiences.
“Every new market has told us the same thing: people get Vodkade the second they taste it,” Mars said. “Grape has been a big part of how we’ve introduced ourselves in those markets, and we’re just getting started.”
Headquartered in St. Louis, Vodkade offers two lines of ready-to-drink vodka cocktails. Its Original lineup features Fruit Punch, Orange, Berry Cherry and Lemon-Lime at 5% ABV, with 130 calories and 10 grams of sugar per serving. The Zero Sugar lineup includes those four flavors plus Grape, with 4.5% ABV, 90 calories and zero grams of sugar per serving.
Learn more at vodkade.com or follow @vodkade_cocktails.
