Au Vodka has become the best-selling alcoholic ready-to-drink brand in the UK, according to new NIQ data.
The Swansea-based booze brand has knocked Diageo-owned gin brand Gordon’s off the top spot, after sales of its premixed spirits tins and canned cocktails hit £15.4m in the past 12 weeks [NIQ 12 we 4 October 2025].
Surpassing “some of the biggest global brands in the world” was probably Au’s biggest achievement to date, said the brand’s co-founder Charlie Morgan.
“In 2022 we became the best super-premium vodka brand, which was a big achievement,” he said. “But in the RTD sector you’re not going up against super-premium brands, you’re up against mainstream brands at quite a cheap price point.
“If you look at some of those brands, some of them have been going for hundreds of years, so to beat them in that space is quite hard.”
Au’s innovation focus
Au made its RTD debut in 2022 with a Blue Raspberry flavoured pre-mixed vodka and soda in a 250ml can format.
Since then the brand has expanded its range with a variety of flavours and formats, including 8% abv canned cocktails in Blue Hawaiian and Strawberry Daiquiri, 7% abv caffeinated cans under a sub-brand called Au Ultra, and – most recently – an alcohol-free Blue Raspberry variant.
A consistent focus on innovation set Au apart from its RTD competitors, Morgan said.
“The old-school brands will tend to release a new flavour once a year or every couple of years, and then really stick to it. We take our inspiration from soft drinks brands like Monster. They’ll do new flavours a lot of the time and that creates a huge amount of buzz.
“For us, it’s about testing and learning. If we try something and it works really well, we’ll pour gasoline on the fire. If it doesn’t work, we’ll sell the stock until we run out, and next year change it up for a different flavour or something.”
Having started with a single run of 250,000 cans and selling them mainly online and in local independent stores, Au Vodka’s cans were now available in “over 90% of licensed retail outlets in the UK”, Morgan revealed.
Independent retail would “always be the heartland” of Au’s business, but grocery multiples were also “doing really well”, said Morgan.
Leapfrogging competition
According to the latest 52-week NIQ data seen by The Grocer, Au is the second-largest RTD brand by value, trailing Gordon’s – which is in both value and volume decline – by just £2.9m [NIQ 52 we 6 September 2025].
The brand has leapfrogged the likes of Sminroff, Jack Daniel’s and WKD in the past 12 months, however.
Au Vodka was founded by Morgan and childhood friend Jackson Quinn in 2015.
In 2017, the pair sold a stake in their fledgling business to DJ and then-Radio 1Xtra presenter Charlie Sloth. In return, Sloth got Au’s products into the hands of musicians, celebrities and influencers who helped grow the brand’s appeal on social media.
Revenues at Au Vodka have soared since, climbing 25.9% to £65.0m in the year ended 29 April 2024.
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