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Co-man/Co-pack Rides the Wave of Adult Ice Pops, Pouched Alcohol

Adult beverage branding and marketing firm Iconic Brands merges with co-man/co-pack TopPop Packaging to address the rapidly growing market for RTD cocktails and RTF adult ice pops, as well as more healthy options for wine and spirits.

Among TopPop’s offerings are adult ice pops in flexible sachets and juice and water products in stand-up pouch packaging.
Among TopPop’s offerings are adult ice pops in flexible sachets and juice and water products in stand-up pouch packaging.

Amityville, N.Y.-based Iconic Brands was founded as a lifestyle branding company with expertise in developing—from inception to completion—alcoholic beverages, with a focus on celebrity branding. TopPop Packaging, purchased by Iconic in July 2020, is a contract manufacturing and packaging company that specializes in malt-, spirits-, and wine-based products in single-serve flexible packaging. Together, the two companies, soon to be renamed TopPop Innovative Brands, Inc., are delivering on some of today’s top trends in the alcoholic beverages market. Among them are ready-to-drink (RTD) and ready-to-freeze (RTF) cocktails in pouches and sachets and better-for-you, better-for-the planet adult beverages that are sustainable, ethical, and authentic.

According to Grand View Research, the global RTD cocktail market, which includes RTF drinks in flexible sachets or squeeze pouches, was valued at USD $782.8 million in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 13.4% from 2022 to 2030. A number of factors are driving this expansion, including the growth of the at-home cocktail market resulting from COVID-19 lockdowns, greater health consciousness among consumers, with RTD beverages typically containing less alcohol by volume (ABV), a desire, especially among Gen Z consumers, for new flavors and tastes, and the convenience of premixed, portable adult beverage options.


Read article   Read this related article on co-man/co-pack Octopi’s craft brew canning and bottling operations.


In 2021, a survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) found that premixed cocktails were the fastest growing spirits category in both revenue and volume. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said they considered themselves to be a regular or occasional consumer of RTD beverages.

Another area where consumers are turning to better-for-you and better-for-the-planet alcohol options is in the wine industry, which is experiencing tremendous growth in vegan organic products. These wines are made without the use of animal products or byproducts, from farming to vinification. In mid-2022, one online retailer of wine products reported that sales of its vegan options had grown 51% since 2019—a trend that is expected to continue.

Iconic Brands’ flagship product is Bellissima Prosecco and Sparkling Wines by Christie Brinkley, a vegan product made with organic grapes that also includes a new zero-sugar, still wine variety. “We bring to life brands that are honest, earth-friendly, and of premium quality,” says Iconic. “Our brands lead change in their category while committing to make a difference for a sustainable future.”

Following Iconic’s acquisition in 2021 of TopPop and its 30,000-sq-ft Marlton, N.J., manufacturing facility, the company quickly expanded, adding a second production facility in Pennsauken, N.J. The new facility, which covers 65,000 sq ft, reached full-scale production in March 2022. Says Tom Martin, co-founder and former president and chief operating officer of TopPop and now interim chief executive officer of TopPop Innovative Brands, the move to rename the company marks a milestone in its evolution from a focus on adult beverage/celebrity brand building to a focus on innovation, development, and delivery of alcohol and non-alcohol beverages, foods, and frozen treats.

Full turnkey services for adult beverage options

TopPop Beverages was founded in 2019 to capitalize on the growing trend of adult ice pops for retail in ambient shelf-stable form in a RTF flexible-film format, with the product made with either spirits, wine, or malt. In 2020, its Marlton facility produced 40 million ice pops, packaged in long-form form/fill/seal pouches (sachets with four-sided seals) and stand-up pouches for both multimillion-dollar Fortune 500 companies and medium-sized businesses.

Said TopPop co-founder and CMO Laurance Rassin when the formation of the company was announced, “With lower shipping costs per unit and a lower environmental footprint compared to cans and bottles, our pouch packaging solutions are the most economical and sustainable way to reach the ready-to-drink market and more specifically, the ready-to-freeze market.”


Read article    Read this related story on how Free Flow Wine dramatically expanded its wine canning capacity.


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INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for Food Products at PACK EXPO Southeast