Driving Brand Success in the Competitive U.S. Landscape
Breaking Into the U.S. Market: How Challenger Drinks Brands Can Scale with the Spirited Accelerator Programme
For emerging and challenger drinks brands, establishing a foothold in the U.S. market is no small feat. The industry’s traditional three-tier system—supplier → distributor → retailer—creates significant barriers, making it difficult for new brands to stand out, control their messaging, and efficiently drive trial.
At Spirited Marketing, we specialise in helping brands, build relevance, generate undeniable consumer demand, and drive distribution across both Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and wholesale channels—all while maintaining higher margins.
The Challenge: Cracking the U.S. Market
With decades of collective experience in the drinks industry, we’ve seen firsthand the frustrations and financial burdens associated with trying to grow brands through conventional distribution channels. That’s why we created the Spirited Accelerator Programme—an innovative model designed to give drinks brands the ability to take their awareness, distribution, and growth into their own hands.
Why DTC Should Be Your First Move
Rather than relying solely on traditional retail, challenger brands must adopt a DTC-first strategy to establish brand awareness and consumer demand before expanding into wholesale. The benefits of this approach are clear:
Full control over brand storytelling and customer experience
Fast access to data-driven insights for smarter growth
The ability to drive trial and loyalty before entering retail
Agility to test, learn, and iterate quickly
Higher margins and improved capital efficiency
The U.S. DTC alcohol market is projected to be worth $4 billion by 2025, reflecting growing consumer comfort with purchasing alcohol online. Modernised shipping laws continue to unlock new revenue streams, allowing brands to sell directly to consumers with greater ease.
The Spirited Accelerator Model: A Smarter Way to Scale
With our expertise and industry experience, the Spirited Accelerator Model enables brands to ship to 39 states, reaching over 92% of the U.S. population. This access translates into millions of potential customers and a dramatically expanded market reach compared to the initial limitations of the traditional retail model.
For challenger drinks brands, DTC and wholesale should work in tandem as part of a scalable growth strategy. DTC fosters brand ownership and direct consumer relationships, while wholesale expands reach, drives volume, and solidifies long-term market presence.
By combining both channels strategically, brands can accelerate their growth, improve profitability, and position themselves for sustained success in the U.S. market.
Ready to Take Control of Your U.S. Growth Strategy?
If you’re looking to enter the U.S. market and want to bypass the inefficiencies of the traditional system, the Spirited Accelerator Programme is your solution. With our experience, proven model, and extensive network, we empower brands to build, scale, and succeed.
Get in touch today to learn how we can help your brand thrive in the U.S. market.