The Launch Move
Big Sipz sent a cup of its new Blast Off Blue flavor into the upper atmosphere via near-space flight company Filmed in Space, timing the stunt to coincide with the flavor's national convenience-store rollout. The wine-based ready-to-drink cocktail, at 16% ABV, is now on shelves across 48 states, with confirmed retail presence in California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, and Nevada, among others.
The stunt wasn't accidental spectacle. Joey Parris, CMO at Patco Brands, framed the effort as deliberate brand architecture: the goal was to generate a moment consumers would seek out and share, not simply a product announcement. That distinction matters for operators and buyers evaluating where RTD brands are investing their early-stage marketing dollars — and whether those dollars produce durable shelf velocity or just a news cycle.
Creator Economy as Distribution Engine
Big Sipz activated Cole Steiner and Cenzo Hayes — co-founders of Dirtbag Clothing and documented record-setters in creator-economy live-stream revenue — to race each other in getting the product airborne. The framing converted a product launch into a competitive content event, extending reach well beyond a traditional paid-media buy.
This approach reflects a broader shift in how emerging beverage brands are allocating launch budgets. Rather than anchoring spend in trade programming or traditional CPG advertising, brands in the better-for-fun, high-ABV RTD segment are routing dollars toward creator partnerships and shareable stunts that generate earned media and organic social impressions at lower effective CPM. For convenience-channel buyers, the implication is straightforward: a brand arriving with pre-built digital awareness can require less promotional lift at the store level to move initial units.
The blue raspberry flavor targets the sweet-tart profile that has driven volume in the flavored malt beverage and wine-based RTD category — a segment that has expanded significantly at c-store cooler doors over the past three years. Blast Off Blue's nostalgic fruit profile positions it adjacent to established performers in that flavor corridor.
What This Signals for Operators
For operators tracking the RTD and ready-to-serve beverage category, the Big Sipz playbook is worth studying as a brand-launch template. The combination of a high-ABV wine-based base, mass c-store distribution across 48 states, and stunt-anchored creator activation represents a relatively low-overhead path to national awareness that sidesteps traditional distributor co-op spending.
Buyers evaluating new RTD SKUs for cooler placement should weigh whether the creator-driven halo translates to repeat purchase — the stunt generates trial intent, but flavor execution and price-point sustainability determine whether the velocity holds at reorder. Patco Brands' portfolio approach, using Big Sipz as a bold-flavor, high-energy vehicle, suggests additional flavor extensions are likely as the brand tests consumer response by channel.
For agencies and growth-marketing teams working with beverage clients, the near-space stunt illustrates how experiential stunts are being repurposed as content assets — the footage becomes evergreen social proof rather than a one-day media event.
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.
