Constellation buys RTD SpikedAde for $75m as wine and spirits sales rise 17%
The deal could reach $275m over five years if the New Jersey brand hits its targets, and Q2 beer sales grew 5%.
Constellation Brands has bought SpikedAde, a vodka-based ready-to-drink line styled after classic sports drinks, for US$75m. The deal carries a further potential payout of US$275m spread across five years, contingent on how well the New Jersey brand performs after the handover.
Constellation plans to widen SpikedAde's US distribution through its Gold Network Distributors and take over production oversight, marketing and distribution, folding the brand into its beer division. Each 355ml can is non-carbonated, sugar-free, 4.5% ABV and carries 100 calories.
The range comes in four flavours borrowed from the sports aisle: Electric Blue, Electric Red, Electric Green and Electric Orange. SpikedAde claims to be among the first in the emerging sports drink-inspired 'Ade' segment, founded in New Jersey only last year and established across the eastern US.
Constellation says the brand plays into "growing demand for flavourful, sessionable RTDs designed for modern social occasions and evolving consumer preferences". The company cited Circana off-premise data for the year to 30 August 2026, which showed spirits-based RTDs are one of the fastest-growing alcohol segments, with value sales up 25%.
"SpikedAde has successfully carved out a distinctive position in an emerging segment and built a brand that is clearly connecting with consumers," said Nicholas Fink, Constellation's president and chief executive. He said the company would build on that base and use its own capabilities to expand the brand's reach.
Jason Cohen, SpikedAde's founder and chief executive, framed the launch as an attempt "to help define a new era for RTDs", one meeting consumers where "performance, lifestyle, and social energy intersect". He credited the team and distributor partners with realising that vision and said Constellation's scale would extend it to more drinkers.
What the deal adds to the portfolio
The beer division already holds Austin Cocktails, acquired in 2022, and Hiyo, an alcohol-free functional drinks brand in which Live Nation bought a minority stake last December. Constellation also took a minority holding in Press hard seltzer in 2020, at the height of that category's rise.
Press entered receivership this year and was reportedly sold at auction to Go 4 It Beverage in August, a reminder of how quickly an RTD bet can turn. The SpikedAde purchase is Constellation's attempt to catch the next wave before it peaks rather than after.
Second-quarter numbers
The acquisition landed alongside Constellation's results for the three months to 31 August 2026. Total sales rose 6% to US$2.63bn and operating income grew 1% to US$897m. Wine and spirits led the quarter, with sales up 17% to US$159.4m on a 15.4% gain in shipment volumes.
That followed an 8% rise in wine and spirits in the first quarter, after a double-digit drop across the 2025/2026 full year. Beer remains by far the larger unit, with Modelo and Corona, and grew 5% to US$2.47bn. Constellation says its portfolio beat the wider wine and spirits category on value and volume in Circana US tracked channels.
Still, the outlook is muted. For fiscal 2027 Constellation expects organic wine and spirits sales to land between 1% growth and a 1% decline, and it forecasts a similar performance for beer. The wine and spirits division is coming off a strong quarter against a modest base.
A portfolio being reshaped
Constellation spent the quarter continuing to prune. It sold Copper & Kings, the American brandy producer, to Kentucky-based Bourdon Spirits Company. That follows the divestment of Svedka Vodka to Sazerac in January 2025 and the sale of several mainstream wine brands to The Wine Group in June of that year.
What remains in spirits includes Utah-based High West Whiskey, Tennessee's Nelson's Green Brier, Casa Noble Tequila and Mi Campo Tequila. Constellation also holds a minority interest in Dos Hombres, the mezcal and Tequila label started by Breaking Bad actors Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston.
The SpikedAde move thus fits a pattern: exiting mature or underperforming assets while buying into faster-growing categories. SpikedAde is small and young, but it sits in a segment growing 25% a year, which is the kind of arithmetic the company is choosing to back.
The five-year contingent payout structure also tempers the risk.
With distribution passing to the beer division's Gold Network and production oversight moving in-house, the next quarters will show whether SpikedAde's eastern-US foothold translates into a national footprint against a crowded RTD field.
Support the content you love — it’s free 🎉
Add Worthbury as a preferred source on Google. Our stories will be more likely to appear in Google’s Top Stories. It’s free and supports our team. Thank you!
Add as preferred sourceYou can remove us any time in Google’s source preferences.
Thank you — you’re all set 🎉
Worthbury is now one of your preferred sources, so our briefings are more likely to appear in Google’s Top Stories.
This briefing is published daily using an AI-powered system crafted by Worthbury's team and finely tuned to meet our editorial standards. While we continuously test and review the output, mistakes can sometimes happen. Tell us if you spot one.