The fastest growing segment in alcohol

Cold brew. Canned wine. Hard seltzer.

Each of these Ready-to-Drink (RTD) beverage categories has experienced explosive growth, and canned cocktails are next. Spirit-based RTDs are the fastest growing segment within the $250B US alcohol market, showing 111% growth year over year.

Yet even in this emerging, explosive category, no brand is crafting cocktails with the right mix of what today’s consumers actually want. Today’s offerings, filled with sugar and artificial ingredients, encourage chug-and-repeat behavior with over-sexed marketing tactics.

We’re missing a damn good cocktail that blends a brand built on community and lifestyle with a product made from clean, transparent ingredients.

Meet Troop

The cocktail crafted to level up your libation

Troop is a premium ready-to-drink cocktail brand that’s building a vibrant community of loyal customers—our Troopers. We were tired of giant alcohol companies selling us concoctions pretending to be cocktails. We wanted something better in our drinks and our social lives.

So we set out on a mission to create a new drinking culture for a new class of drinkers. 

We believe that: 

• Drinking is not a sport. It’s an opportunity to share a moment.

• Life is too short to settle. Complacency is just a waste of our limited time.

• No apologies necessary. Be unabashedly you.

• Good should be accessible. Hard or expensive doesn’t mean better.

Troop is inspiring a new social scene, one sip at a time.

You deserve a cocktail without compromise

Our curated selection of cocktails is squeezed, mixed, shaken, and canned in Napa, CA. Each contains real spirits, fresh-squeezed juices, herbs and botanicals. No “natural flavors,” no preservatives, nothing fake. With 10% alcohol by volume, and only 3g of sugar and 125 calories, you’ll find a lot to love and nothing to feel guilty about.

• Gin Spritz: gin, amaro, lemon, hibiscus, soda water
• Bourbon Smash: bourbon, black tea, lemon, mint, cane sugar
• Rum Mojito: rum, lime, mint, soda water, cane sugar

Try today! Use code "REPUBLIC" for 20% off your first order.

Sales through June already 220% total sales from 2020

Female founder CC DesRosiers single-handedly grew Troop into one of the hottest RTD cocktail brands in California. Now bolstered by an experienced team, Troop is sold nationally via our Direct to Consumer (DTC) and in hundreds of retailers.

• Top selling canned cocktail in 300+ retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Total Wine & More, Nugget Markets, Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres, and more

• Plans to add retail partners this year: Safeway, BevMo!, Raley’s, and more

• People’s Choice Winner of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Brand Battle Competition

• USA Today’s Top 10 Best Canned Cocktails

• Target Food & Beverage Takeoff Accelerator Semi-Finalist

• Sales through June 2021 were already more than double (220%) our entire 2020 sales.

• Projecting $1M+ revenue in 2021 and $3.5M+ revenue in 2022

We’re here for the real ones

The sippers and savorers. The small-talk rejectors and conversation relishers. Those who don’t measure fun in shots or calories, but in belly laughs and fun. A new class of drinkers who won’t settle for less than absolutely delicious.

Our Troop believes they shouldn’t sacrifice on flavor or ingredient quality. They are cocktail curious, ingredient conscious, and tastemakers in their friend groups. 

They want to bring authenticity and adventure to the party, so they show up with Troop instead of seltzer, wine, or beer. They’re trading up to spirit-based cocktails for a number of reasons: higher quality flavor, a more premium drink, and because they prefer their spirit-of-choice as an alcohol base.

Scaling in stores, hospitality, and online

Troop sells across three primary channels:

• Wholesale

• Hospitality

• Direct to consumer through DrinkTroop.com

Our wholesale distributors give us access to top-tier groceries, regional chains, and independent retailers throughout California and Texas. We will expand our wholesale distribution to 10–12 more states in 2021 and 2022.

We’ve developed a detailed growth strategy to vastly expand our scope of distribution, increase overall revenue, and improve margins to 65% (up from 45-55% currently).

Our state of the art distillery in Napa, CA, has the capacity to scale to 150K+ cases per year, allowing us to enter into large contracts with national retailers. 

The fastest growing segment in the $250B US alcohol market

Troop is situated at the intersection of several megatrends driving innovation and growth: premiumization, convenience, and better-for-you options.

• With a 43% year-on-year increase, Americans are now buying more ready-to-drink than traditional bottled spirits, and the category is set to soon outgrow all of wine. 

• Spirit-based RTDs like Troop had the fastest growth of all: 111% year over year

• RTDs are projected to be about 22% of US alcohol sales by 2025, up from 9.6% in 2020.

• M&A activity by large alcohol companies is regular, and spirits companies see exits at 10-20X revenue

Troop stands out with our commitment to quality and community

Other brands in the RTD category are mixing malt, sugar, or wine alcohol bases with chemical or artificial flavors. Troop stands out from these brands with two sets of distinctive assets:

• Quality & taste: Troop’s line of cocktails is made from just real spirits, fresh squeezed juices, and botanicals. Our full-flavor, full-strength drinks stand out from alternatives hiding preservatives and chemical flavors. 

• Community & lifestyle: Our community isn’t just “customers.” They’re Troopers. Troop hosts in-person activations and events, delivers “surprise and delight” packaging, and leverages our Troopers as micro-influencers to turn the everyday into a reason to celebrate together. 

The #1 RTD cocktail by 2024

With new funding, Troop plans to:

• Expand into new states, partnering with a national distributor to scale into target markets and key retail chains

• Expand our product portfolio, partnering with spirit suppliers who are looking to break into RTD and extend brand equity

• Increase our presence in the events & hospitality market, partnering with venues that appreciate the efficiency of RTD cocktails in an industry changed by COVID

• Continue to build our Troop community, converting our top customers into full-time Troopers with our membership program and subscription plan

On the strength of our product, passion, and meticulous planning and execution, we believe that $1M revenue in 2021 will be just the beginning.

Raising for an immediate growth opportunity

As of June, 2021, Troop has raised $500k from a team of alcohol- and CPG-industry veterans.

With the backing of former top executives from Pernod Ricard, Francis Ford Coppola, and Constellation Brands, we have the expertise to take on the alcohol industry. Other angels include investors that have helped scale other community-first consumer packaged goods brands like Hydrant, Oatly, Magic Spoon, Vita Coca and more.

Normally, big alcohol companies and private institutional investors are the only ones with access to investments and returns in the high-value alcohol space. This is a unique opportunity to join a group of Troopers and get in on the ground floor of an explosive growth category and company.

Female-founder builds cocktail company with husband and industry experts

Troop is led by CC DesRosiers (CEO, President), who knows what it takes to lead as a woman in male-dominated industries. With a background in strategy and brand management consulting, she has a knack for putting together the right teams to identify and solve big problems. The alcohol industry is severely lacking in diversity, and she’s on a mission to break up the invite-only boys’ club by creating a drink that challenges the status quo. Her favorite Troop cocktail is the Gin Spritz.

Reed DesRosiers (CFO, COO) has the expertise to identify customer needs in data and build products that meet them. He oversees production, operations, and finance. Prior to co-founding Troop, Reed specialized in product management, data science, and business models in the media and technology industry. His favorite Troop cocktail is the Bourbon Smash.

Kaila Strickland (Director of Sales, West) leads Troop's sales efforts in the western region, including California, Texas, and additional states to be added soon. Kaila brings a decade of beverage alcohol sales experience to her new role at Troop, having worked for both distributors, including Southern Glazer's, and suppliers, including Treasury Wine and Miller Family Wine. Kaila's favorite Troop cocktail is the Vodka Lemonade.

Bridget Hawkley (Community Manager) comes from a family of restaurateurs and entrepreneurs. She oversees social media, content production, events, and partnerships. Bridget’s favorite Troop cocktail is the Tequila Paloma.