AU Vodka has become the UK’s bestselling ready-to-drink brand in the off-trade and completed its first co-branded product launch, a partnership with Carlsberg Britvic’s Tango that began rolling out to UK retailers on 14 May 2026.
The Tango collaboration, Au Vodka’s first co-branded launch and the first time Tango has lent its name to an alcoholic product, arrives as the Swansea-based brand posts its strongest financial year on record. Revenue for the 12 months to 30 April 2025 rose 27.3% to £82.8m, with RTD volume climbing 65.8% to more than 1.1 million nine-litre cases. Vodka bottle sales added a more modest 27.4% uplift.
The RTD performance drove Au past Gordon’s, Diageo’s gin brand that had held the category’s top off-trade position for years, by the end of 2025. The brand built that position on flavour-led cans, high repeat purchase rates, and expanding distribution across grocery and convenience, with TikTok-first marketing sustaining consumer awareness at low cost per acquisition.
The Tango duo launched into Tesco and across major wholesalers, with a wider grocery rollout including Asda and Morrisons planned from the following month, at a retail price of £3.20 per 330ml can. The 5% ABV format sits squarely within mainstream impulse price architecture. For Au, it reduces the trial barrier in accounts where its own equity may still be thin. For Carlsberg Britvic, it deploys Tango’s flavour assets into a growing category without requiring capital behind a dedicated spirits range.
The financials reveal a business investing ahead of its revenue line. Operating profit slid by over a quarter to £6.7m, driven by a £12.1m jump in administrative expenses to £25.6m, with overheads up more than 250% in two years. Gross margin ticked up to 43.6% from 39.1%, confirming pricing power at the product level. The overhead pressure reflects the cost of building a commercial infrastructure capable of holding a number-one category position rather than merely visiting it, a dynamic Drinkabl.media traced in a parallel context when covering Nigeria’s brewers absorbing compliance cost increases during their own volume-building phases.
The US market adds a separate dimension. Au entered the country in April 2023 and has since reported record ecommerce months, though the UK still accounts for the overwhelming share of total revenue. Drinkabl.media’s examination of how global spirits brands penetrate new markets under entrenched consumer preference structures is directly relevant to what Au is attempting in America: building flavour-first awareness against far larger incumbents with deeper retail footprints.
The Tango launch is designed for summer throughput, but its commercial test runs deeper than seasonal volume. Co-branded RTDs carry dual reputational risk: if the product underperforms in convenience channels, it opens questions about whether Au’s equity travels beyond its core consumer. If it clears quickly, confidence in further soft-drink collaborations grows across the category, and Au’s case for expanded distribution strengthens ahead of next year’s range review cycle.
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