If you’re building a ready to drink (RTD) brand today, you already know what the packaging landscape looks like, with shifting consumer preferences and limited-edition packaging that needed to be out the door yesterday.
In the ready to drink industry, weeks-long approval cycles can mean missing an entire trend. Imagine working on a yuzu-ginger spritz in January. By the time your RTD label clears legal, marketing, and production approvals, it’s April and everyone’s talking about mango matcha.
The truth? Most legacy artwork systems slow you down. They’re built for large enterprises with year-long timelines. RTD brands need something simple, fast-to-deploy, and easy to use. Because the faster you design, approve, and ship, the faster you stay top-of-mind (and shelf).
Meet the New RTD Market
From High Noon’s crisp, vodka-based seltzers to OLIPOP’s functional, flavor-packed sodas, today’s consumers are reaching for beverages that are fun, refreshing, and aligned with their lifestyle.
Between 2024 and 2034, the global RTD alcoholic beverages market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 11.5%, with some estimates valuing it at over $117 billion by 2034.
We’re talking about:
- Sober-curious consumers driving the rise of no/low-alcohol options.
- Functional RTDs blending caffeine, adaptogens, and probiotics into kombuchas, energy seltzers, and wellness tonics.
- Flavor experimentation, where limited editions test bold combinations like chili-mango or lavender-lemon.
The ready-to-drink market is evolving with Gen Z and Millennials leading the charge. They’re drawn to brands with a clear identity, ones that feel authentic, reflect cultural moments, and deliver on both taste and wellness. Today’s consumers want flavors that are fun and adventurous, but also light, hydrating, and better-for-you.
And in this fast-evolving space, speed to shelf is everything, with your product packaging deciding whether your brand leads the trend or gets left behind.
The Packaging Chaos You’re Probably Living With
If your team has ever had to reprint RTD labels because someone approved an outdated version, you’re not alone. Most brands deal with similar challenges as they scale:
- SKU Sprawl: With new flavors, seasonal editions, and collaborations, each SKU brings its own packaging project. Managing multiple versions across regions and regulations can get confusing and cause delays.
- Version Control Issues: Files often sit in emails, Slack, or shared drives, making it hard to know which packaging version is final.
- Slow Approvals: Feedback comes from different channels, leading to long approval cycles and constant follow-ups.
- Missing Assets: Important elements like dielines, updated logos, or fonts are often misplaced or hard to find when needed.
- Printer Errors: Sending outdated files to printers can lead to misprints, production delays, and extra costs.
When every launch is time-sensitive, even small inefficiencies like these can quickly add up and slow your packaging progress.
Why Speed Is the Only Strategy That Matters
In a fast-paced market, speed directly impacts growth. And because the label is often your first and most visible consumer touchpoint, your RTD packaging isn’t just a compliance requirement, it’s what gets your product off the shelves and into the cart.
- Short Product Cycles: Seasonal flavors and limited editions need fast approvals to hit shelves on time.
- First-Mover Advantage: Being early to market on a trend, like Dry January or a summer flavor, can capture significant share.
- Consumer Expectations: Customers expect new, exciting products regularly. Brands that launch quickly build stronger loyalty.
The Problem with Enterprise Systems
Many traditional artwork systems were designed for large enterprises, not for agile consumer brands. While they offer deep functionality, they often create more problems than they solve for RTD teams:
Enterprise setups can take months, by which point your “new” release isn’t new anymore.
Your design and marketing teams don’t need 200 features. They need 10 that work beautifully. Too much complexity, and they’ll abandon the tool entirely, reverting to email or Slack.
Growing RTD brands can’t wait on IT every time they want to onboard a vendor or add a new SKU.
Enterprise licenses charge you for features you’ll never use, an expensive mismatch for brands that value speed over scale.
Compliance: The Non-Negotiable
You can’t move fast if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder. And in a global market, compliance can’t be an afterthought.
Each region brings different labeling requirements, from nutritional facts to warning statements, recycling logos, and allergen declarations. A single misprint can mean:
- Product recalls
- Regulatory fines
- Damaged brand trust
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the FDA reported 45 new food and beverage recalls, with approximately 47% linked to labeling errors. This highlights the critical importance of precise labeling in the food and beverage industry.
The good news? AI is catching up. Modern platforms like WebCenter Go integrate AI-driven compliance checks that flag missing allergen statements, wrong nutrition tables, or outdated barcodes before print. That means you can move faster without gambling on packaging accuracy and compliance.
What a Fast, Simple Artwork Management System Looks Like
A system built for the RTD packaging category looks very different from a legacy enterprise platform. You need something that’s easier to implement and use, and offers the flexibility and intuitiveness that fast-moving beverage brands need.
Here’s what a modern, right-sized solution like WebCenter Go brings to the table:
- Smart Proofing & Annotations
Get real-time, visual feedback directly on the artwork with markup tools, reducing the back-and-forth. Eliminate human errors and maintain label accuracy with tools such as spell check, measurement scale, artwork compare, font finder, and more.
- Automated Workflows
Build custom workflows with the flexibility to adapt as your packaging needs evolve. Route approvals automatically for seamless task progression and gain full visibility into every project/task with multiple tracking views.
- AI Compliance Checks
Run custom rulebooks on any artwork file to catch compliance errors instantly on any section, whether it is missing disclaimers or barcode mismatches, allowing you to quickly identify and correct them.
- Centralized File Management
Keep all versions, assets, and folders in one secure place with a single source of truth. Manage and share files easily from an intuitive asset library with granular access controls, and track updates with version control.
- Analytics & Reporting
Track both major and minor project details like completion times, assignee efficiency, and artwork revisions per cycle to quickly spot delays, allocate resources more efficiently, and fine-tune your processes over time.
Choose Agility Over Complexity
In today’s fast-moving RTD packaging market, speed and simplicity are key.
Big, enterprise platforms may seem powerful, but they often slow teams down with long implementations, complex interfaces, and unnecessary features. RTD brands need tools that work as fast as they do, platforms that support quick launches, easy collaboration, and reliable compliance.
That’s exactly what WebCenter Go delivers with a fast, flexible, and easy-to-use artwork management system built for modern beverage brands. Book a demo and see how quickly you can launch your next product.
