Vita Coco partners with Diageo amid growing competition in the canned cocktail category

Last month, the beverage giant teamed up with Brown-Forman Corp.
BF.A,
-1.91%

BF.B,
-2.10%
for Canned Jack & Coke. In January, Coke teamed up with Molson-Coors Beverage Co.
TAP,
-1.73%
for Simply Spiked juices, adding to an existing partnership for Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. And, also in January, Coca-Cola paired with Constellation Brands Inc.
STZ,
-1.17%
for an adult version of Fresca.

Rival PepsiCo Inc.
PEP,
-1.56%
partnered with Boston Beer Co.
SAM,
-3.19%
last year for Hard Mtn Dew.

In addition, there are a number of privately held players, like High Noon, which has both hard seltzer and canned vodka drinks, and hard seltzer leader White Claw, as well as canned wines.

Read: Boston Beer stock gets downgrade from Goldman Sachs as hard-seltzer business fizzles

Vita Coco
COCO,
-0.65%
is also riding a wave of rising demand for coconut water in the U.S.

“For starters, coconut beverages are part of the changing taste of America, driven in large part by demand from multicultural and specifically Hispanic and Asian American consumers,” said Michael Kirban, co-chief executive of the company, on the most recent earnings call in May, according to FactSet.

Kirban presented data showing that coconut as a beverage ingredient is a $2.8 billion market segment in the U.S., bigger than both almond and oat beverages.

See: Oatly beats revenue expectations as new production facilities ramp up

Also: Canopy Growth shares fall after it agrees to convert debt into stock in deal with Constellation Brands

Vita Coco stock has run up nearly 12% over the past three months. Diageo
DEO,
-1.86%
is down 18.6% for the period. The benchmark S&P 500 index
SPX,
-1.50%
has dropped 16.7% over the last three months.