In the last few years the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) category has exploded, as consumers reach for an alcohol beverage that is convenient, pre-mixed, and tastes fruity. At the end of 2024, the U.S. RTD category was estimated at $903 million, according to Grand View Research, and is posed to reach $103 billion by the end of this year.
But what many people don’t realize is that the alcohol base in RTDs can be made with spirits, wine, or malt(beer). And, according to Kaleigh Theriault, Beverage Alcohol Thought Leader with NielsenIQ, wine based RTDs/cocktails achieved a 29.3% dollar growth rate in 2024.
When I asked her which wine-based RTDs were performing best, she sent me a list of the top ten performers by dollar sales, and it showed that BeatBox was listed in the #1 spot (see chart below). So that is when I reached out to BeatBox Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Brad Schultz.
“The main thing we focus on at BeatBox is convenience and good taste,” Brad told me in a Zoom interview. “Our brand was born at music festivals in Austin, Texas, and so we want our drinks to be portable and fun.”
The Fascinating Birth of BeatBox
Brad explained that the concept for BeatBox came about in 2011 when he and best friend, Justin Fenchel (now CEO and co-founder), went to a wine bar in their home town of Santa Monica, California.
“We found that the selections were boring – only white and red wine, so we started brainstorming on what we could do to bring more energy to wine,” stated Brad.
The following year they were attending classes at the University of Texas in Austin and continued their brainstorming, joined by friend and third company co-founder, Aimy Steadman (now COO).
“We kept talking about the concept with other people at college parties, and dreamed up crazy flavors and names like blue razz, juicy mango and fruit punch recipes,” explained Brad. “We knew we wanted it to be fruity and served in a box.”
Eventually the three turned it into a business school project and managed to score a spot in the TV show, Shark Tank, where they were granted $1 million dollars start-up money. They combined this with their personal savings and donations from family and friends to achieve another $205,000 to launch the company in 2013.
Experimenting with Wine, Vodka and Malt at BeatBox
“We originally planned on using vodka as our base alcohol, because we wanted an alcohol that didn’t have a strong taste. However, we discovered that laws state that you can’t put distilled spirit in a 5-liter box, and we wanted to be in a box, which is more convenient,” Brad explained.
So they experimented and discovered that wine made with either oranges or grapes could produce the type of base alcohol they were seeking that didn’t overpower the fruit flavors. Thus BeatBox is now the #1 selling wine-based RTD in the market.
Today they make 15 different flavors, and have since added some malt-based versions. Additional flavors include Pink Lemonade, Green Apple, Cranberry Dreams, Orange Blast and more. The drinks are primarily sold in a 500ml tetra pak for around $4.99 each, but you can occasionally find a 3-liter party pack.
BeatBox lists their ingredients on the box, and provides nutritional information on their website. Each 5-ounce serving ranges from 100 to 110 calories, very similar to a regular glass of wine, that averages 120 to 130 calories.
The design of the boxes are very colorful, and according to Brad, “We purposely designed the box to be bright and colorful to reflect a party or a music festival.”
What’s Next for BeatBox?
So what’s next for Beatbox? I asked Brad this question, and he talked about their future vision, as well as their sustainability and marketing strategy.
“We want to be the most inclusive brand ever,” he said. “Appealing to consumers aged 25 to 45 year old. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and consider we are still in the early innings.”
Yet the early innings seemed to have paid off, because the company was reported to surpass $100 million in revenues in 2023, according to multiple sources, including Forbes. Furthermore, the Wall Street Journal reported that BeatBox was set to achieve around $175 million in sales in 2024. Brad said he couldn’t comment on revenues at the time of this interview.
The company has a good sustainability track story, because the box is recyclable, and they are also focused on becoming plastic neutral and lowering their carbon footprint. Beatbox has removed more than 154,000 pounds of plastic from the earth’s oceans, and became a Certified B Corporation in 2023 – meaning they are meeting high standards of sustainable performance, transparency and accountability.
Brad mentioned that BeatBox continues to be dedicated to introducing its RTDs at music festivals around the nation, where they provide samples of their product if possible.
“We continue to attend and support music festivals, and bring in our brand ambassadors at these festival to help celebrate the spirit of BeatBox,” reported Brad.
He added the brand ambassadors were “part of our secret sauce from the start. We find people who are super passionate about our brand and recruit them to attend music festivals and greet others.”
The brand ambassadors dress in colorful outfits and perform cheers next to the BeatBox stand. They also encourage festival attendees to join them and try a sample, as well as posting on social media. They are not paid cash, but receive points they can use to obtain rewards and ‘swag.’
This is a common marketing strategy used by other beverage companies at festivals, and Brad admits that they were inspired by Red Bull’s strategy.
BeatBox also develops partnerships and engages in sponsorships with sports teams including different basketball and baseball teams as well as the professional bull riding league.
This March 2025, they teamed up with Shaquille O’Neal, former basketball player (7.1 feet and 325 pounds) and sports analyst who became an investor and a partner. Shaq created a new Blueberry Lemonade flavor BeatBox with his picture in advertisements for the product.