WILD LOT FARM DISTILLERY: Ryan Fowler
Ryan Fowler
Founder & CEO
Wild Lot Farm Distillery
Based on your data, insights and experience, what’s trending for summer 2025?
Fresh & real: As consumers become more sophisticated at scrutinizing labels and ingredient decks, they have a growing distaste for preservatives, additives, and unrecognizable ingredients. There is strong growth in claims like “no preservatives", “Made with fresh pressed juices”, or “Made with no refined sugars”.
Local & sustainable: More than ever, Canadian consumers care strongly about where products are made and where ingredients or components are sourced from when considering purchasing. Call-outs like “Made in Canada” are no longer enough—consumers are looking for stronger supply chain transparency. Claims like “Made with Fresh Pressed Juices from Prince Edward County farms” or “Made with Cold Brewed Espresso from a local Café down the road” now matter.
Disruptive packaging: Both in label design and structural format. In a sea of cans, consumers are looking for something that grabs them right away with a clear comprehension of what the product is.
Which of your products do you anticipate being hot sellers this summer?
Our Gin + Soda + Concord Grape Juice has quickly become our top seller. It’s the ultimate mix of refreshing and nostalgia. Ultra juicy, a beautiful purple hue, and tastes like a melted purple popsicle with only 6g of sugar (naturally occurring only from the fruit juice). Made with Niagara concord grape juice, the stuff you grew up drinking!
Any new innovations in the mix?
Wild Lot continues to invest heavily in RTD innovation—our line up now includes three vodka sodas, three gin sodas, and eight bar-strength cocktails. To build on this momentum, we are launching another four RTD products by Canada Day of this year. By increasing our scale, our line-up now lends itself nicely to the creation of variety packs over time.
This is the first sales summer for convenience retailers, what advice can you share?
Maximize the size of your RTD section (at the expense of beer and wine) during summer months as this is the category’s time to shine. Include as much variety in your assortment at the start of the season when consumers are locking into their ‘go-to’ choices for the rest of the season. Create strong call outs for your local/craft sections, as this attribute becomes increasingly important and top of mind for shoppers. Highlighting unique craft products not found elsewhere gives shoppers a reason to come back specifically to your location.
In terms of perfect pairings, what other convenience items go well with you offering?
Salty snacks paired with fruity, lightly sweet RTDs. The ultimate combo.
RETURN TO TASTES LIKE SUMMER Q&A SERIES
