California's Hello Soju is pushing into Colorado and Texas, bringing its award-winning sparkling soju RTD cocktails and small-batch flagship soju spirit to two of the country's most competitive on- and off-premise beverage markets. The brand, already stocked at premium retailers in California and Nevada, is now available at BevMo!, select Target, Total Wine & More, Gelson's, and Lee's Liquor locations across all four states.

The RTD Market Moment

The timing tracks a structural shift in the U.S. alcohol industry. RTDs and canned cocktails grew 34.7% in volume year-over-year in April 2026 across 18 U.S. control states — the fastest pace of any alcohol category — while total spirits volumes fell 1.2%, according to NABCA data cited by The Spirits Business in May 2026. The mix within RTDs is also changing: spirit-based products climbed from 55% to 67% of all RTD launches between 2021 and 2024, while malt-based hard seltzer volumes dropped 10%, with canned cocktails absorbing that lost share, per Global Drinks Intel. At the same time, the field is consolidating — new RTD launches across the top 10 markets fell from roughly 3,400 in 2021 to 1,800 in 2024, a signal that capital is concentrating behind fewer, higher-quality, higher-ABV bets.

Soju specifically is outpacing the broader spirits market. IWSR projects U.S. soju volume growth at a 16% CAGR between 2024 and 2029, against a projected 2% decline for total U.S. spirits over the same period. Flavored and RTD formats are driving that growth, with flavored soju now comprising more than half of U.S. soju volumes — a sharp rise since 2019.

What Operators Are Buying

For on-premise buyers and retail buyers alike, Hello Soju's positioning sits at the intersection of two growth vectors: the premiumization of RTDs and the mainstream breakout of Korean-inspired spirits. The RTD line — five sparkling varieties made with real fruit juice and no added sugar — is the only product in the category made in California from non-GMO California sticky rice, distilled using the traditional Korean method in copper pot stills in Sonoma County, according to the company. The flagship soju spirit earned Double Gold at the 2026 CHILLED 100 Awards and Platinum at the 2026 L.A. Spirits Awards; the Sparkling Soju Asian Pear earned a perfect 100-point score and Double Gold at the same CHILLED 100 competition.

The Colorado debut was timed to the Denver Food & Wine Festival. On-premise traction in California already includes accounts such as Chubby Group, Baekjeong, Houston Brothers Hospitality's Andy's, and Openaire at The Line Hotel. In Nevada, retail expansion at Target is ramping up alongside California. CEO Elisabeth Baron framed the state-by-state strategy in terms that should resonate with beverage program directors tracking RTD trends: "Texas and Colorado are two of the most exciting beverage markets in the country, and Hello Soju sits at the intersection of two of the fastest growing categories in alcohol beverage: soju and spirit-based RTDs."

What Comes Next

Hello Soju's national expansion is targeted for the remainder of 2026 and into early 2027, with additional state markets to be named later this year. Direct-to-consumer orders are live at hellosoju.com in most U.S. states where permitted. The brand also holds an on-premise marketing platform through its partnership as the official soju partner of LAFC at BMO Stadium, which supports visibility with the kind of culturally engaged consumer base that operators in both new markets will recognize. For restaurant and bar buyers evaluating the RTD shelf, the growth data and the distribution footprint together make Hello Soju worth a closer look.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.