Valley entrepreneurs Anita Goodson and Melanie Nelson are expanding Spirited Brands' ready-to-drink cocktail portfolio. Their company is actively tapping into a market segment that continues to drive significant growth within the spirits industry.

The development highlights a key shift in the beverage alcohol space. As the broader spirits market faces a changing environment, the ready-to-drink (RTD) category remains a powerful engine of growth, according to a recent report from BevIndustry. Entrepreneurs like Goodson and Nelson are capitalizing on this momentum by creating products that cater to evolving consumer tastes, which increasingly favor premium ingredients, transparent labeling, and innovative flavor profiles over the once-dominant hard seltzers. The reported 246% year-over-year volume growth for their brands across Arizona suggests this new approach is resonating strongly with consumers.

What We Know So Far

  • Two Valley-based entrepreneurs, Anita Goodson and Melanie Nelson, are the founders of Spirited Brands, the company behind the Soke and Soula ready-to-drink cocktails, according to the Queen Creek Tribune.
  • Spirited Brands has seen its portfolio volume grow 246% year-over-year within Arizona, as reported by the Queen Creek Tribune.
  • The ready-to-drink beverage category is a primary driver of growth in the spirits market, which is otherwise navigating a shifting landscape, according to BevIndustry.
  • Separately, co-founder and Creative Director Cora Delaney recently launched Badwater Tequila Pineapple Crush, a new RTD made with blanco tequila and real fruit juice, as reported by TrendHunter.
  • The Badwater Tequila product aims to redefine how tequila drinks are presented to a new generation of consumers, particularly adult Gen Z drinkers, according to TrendHunter.

Women Entrepreneurs Redefining the Beverage Market

In Arizona, Anita Goodson and Melanie Nelson's Spirited Brands distinguishes itself in the crowded RTD market. Moving beyond the conventional malt-liquor base of first-wave hard seltzers, their products leverage sophisticated foundations. This delivers complex, craft-style experiences in a can, directly responding to a market in transition where consumers seek higher-quality options.