El Rayo Tequila, the London brand co founded in 2019 by Jack Vereker and Tom Bishop, will stock its Plata expression in 525 Tesco stores nationwide, Retail Times reported on November 9, 2026. The listing adds Tesco to a retail roster that already includes Sainsbury's and Waitrose.
The rollout covers El Rayo's No1 Plata bottling only. It follows a 2023 debut at Sainsbury's that the brand and trade press described at the time as the first tequila priced above thirty pounds to be carried by that chain.
What the Tesco listing covers
According to Retail Times, El Rayo Plata is rolling out to 525 Tesco supermarkets across the country. Tesco's own product listing shows the 70 centiliter bottle at 40 percent alcohol by volume, priced at 35.00 pounds before any loyalty card discount. The outlet credited El Rayo as the number one independent tequila brand by value sales within Sainsbury's and Waitrose, citing NIQ data for the 52 weeks to May 16, 2026. El Rayo is also sold through John Lewis and Selfridges, per the same report.
Beyond the bottled range, El Rayo has built out a ready to drink line: a Tequila Tonic and Grapefruit can that launched in April 2025, and a Tequila Lime and Soda can, at 6 percent alcohol by volume with a recommended retail price of 3.75 pounds, that followed in June 2026, according to Retail Times and earlier coverage from The Spirits Business.
How El Rayo got here
El Rayo launched in 2019 out of Peckham, south London, with Vereario and Bishop pitching the tequila and tonic serve as an alternative to lime, salt and shot glasses, according to The Grocer and Retail Times. The brand's April 2023 Sainsbury's listing put its Plata into 400 stores at a recommended retail price of 34.95 pounds, The Spirits Business reported at the time, a deal the founders called their first national supermarket placement.
Funding has tracked the retail expansion. El Rayo closed a 1.33 million pound round in April 2024, led by Rianta Capital, the family office of New Look founder Tom Singh, with additional backing from Anotherway Ventures and Beavertown Brewery founder Logan Plant, The Spirits Business reported. That followed an earlier 900,000 pound raise in 2023 and a 1 million dollar investment secured before the Sainsbury's deal, according to the same outlet. The Grocer reported the 2024 round was aimed at making El Rayo the second biggest super premium tequila brand in the UK that year, with plans to expand into export markets.
What the brand and the retailer said
Tom Bishop, El Rayo's founder and chief executive, said Tesco represents a major milestone for the company and described the listing as a chance to bring what he called a fresh perspective to the tequila shelf to a larger audience, according to Retail Times. Antonia Karkides, spirits buyer at Tesco, said the retailer was pleased to welcome El Rayo Plata to 525 stores and was looking forward to seeing how customers respond, per the same report.
What this means
The Tesco deal reads as the next step in a UK grocery trend toward accessible premium tequila that trade outlets including The Spirits Business have tracked through 2026, rather than a standalone event. Retail Times did not report unit volumes, an effective date for shelves to carry the bottle, or a Mexican producer or NOM number for El Rayo's liquid, so those remain open questions for now.