Kelsey Capellino, category manager, United Pacific, Long Beach, California, was a finalist for adult beverages, large chain, in CSP’s 2025 Category Manager of the Year (CMOY) awards. Here is a Q&A from her conversation with CSP on managing the adult beverage category.
This year's CMOY awards featured 14 winners across seven categories. Winners from both small (99 or fewer stores) and large chains (100 stores or more) were selected for the first time in each category.
Overseeing adult beverages for five years at Rocket Stores, Capellino is invested in the need of both occasional and every day customers, indicating it’s paramount to create value for all adult beverage patrons.
What specific adult beverage segments proved to be impactful to drive the fortunes of Rocket Stores in 2024?
Anything with high flavor and alcohol by volume of 10% or above is a home run. The adult beverage segment complements the sales of other adult RTD [ready to drink] types, such as beer and flavored malts. These ready-to-drink brand really elevated the entire cold vault, including non-adult varieties. We also find that our customer is a fan of malt-based brands. We recently expanded to Midwest and have found that Monaco and High Noon dominate the Midwest. While in our West Coast stores it’s Buzzballz with abv range of 12 to 14%. We also see domestic beer as being a high-velocity segment in Midwest markets.
What brand or brands took you by surprise in 2024?
The biggest surprise was Buzzballz [ready-to-drink cocktails]. It’s been around for years and for it to have a comeback story was something—embraced by younger drinkers. It competed very well with BeatBox, helped by the several celebrities who have endorsed it. On singles, margin is a big focus. We saw a ‘turn-and-burn’ for singles this past year, with much rotation with consumers wanting to sample different brands. There are so many FMBs coming out in 2025 that sampling will be as important as ever. The 19-ounce can is thriving, a sweet spot for singles as 16-ounce cans are a thing of the past while 24-ounces might be too much for some.
What have been some of your most vexing challenges in 2024 and into this year pertaining to the category?
Pressure from the economy means less traffic and people not shopping the entire store. It’s a fun challenge to try and remain competitive. We see units down, with beer especially. This was one of the highest ‘Dry Januarys’ we’ve seen. There are also a lot of NA categories that have taken away from adult beverages. It’s no longer a case where we can establish a sustained planogram for six to 12 months—it’s a case of going month to month.
What impactful consumer purchasing trends from last year are you looking to take advantage of even further in 2025?
Taking advantage of the RTD and high alcohol by volume items—Fireball Malt and more. These were once positioned at the top right corner of our coolers but are now located at the forefront of the beverage schematics. We’re excited to see what happens.
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