Hiro Sake's recent launch of Hiro Saketini, the company's first ready-to-drink (RTD) canned saketini cocktail, is giving the market what it wants, a company founder said in a news release.
The saketini itself has been around for more than 40 years, particularly as a staple drink in Japanese and Asian restaurants, the company said in the news release. The Japan-based award-winning, handcrafted, premium sake producer is introducing its first saketini RTD for the U.S. market in black cherry and watermelon varieties.
"We have seen the explosion of the RTD sector of the market," Hiro Sake co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Marco Destefanis said in the news release. "We firmly believe that the saketini is a great opportunity to enter the RTD category and are proud to bring the first saketini RTD to this new and rapidly expanding segment. It was a very natural progression for our company, after more than 10 years in the sake business."
Hiro Sake co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Marco Destefanis
| Marco Destefanis/LinkedIn
Spirits-based, single-serve, ready-to-drink cocktails currently make up the fastest-growing segment, with about $1.6 billion in sales in 2021, according to Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
"We are now moving into the quickly growing RTD segment as a brand extension to our bottle business," Hiro Sake co-founder and CEO Carlos Arana said in the news release. "We noted that there are very few RTD products that use sake as a base and Hiro would be the first RTD line extension from an existing sake brand. It is the perfect serve for consumers that are looking for an easy-to-drink, easy-to-transport, delicious, light and refreshing drink."
Hiro Saketini is made from imported Japanese Hiro Sake Red and only polished Japanese-grown rice.
The Hiro Saketini varieties are expected to debut in Florida this month, initially via on-premise accounts, and then soon after to the off-premise market. In Florida, Hiro is imported domestically by Hiro Sake USA, based in Manhasset, New York, and Breakthru Beverage Group will be the distributor partner for Hiro Saketini.
Distribution and additional flavors are expected to expand throughout the U.S. next year.
Hiro Saketini cans are being marketed in four-packs of 12-ounce sizes, with 5% alcohol by volume, at a suggested retail price of $12.99 per pack.
Since its founding in 2011, Hiro Sake expanded into several markets and made it through the pandemic by narrowing its focus. Hiro Sake now is available in more than 20 markets in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Japan, the Caribbean and Australia.