Fruit drops

30 August, 2016

MARKETING INITIATIVES

Kopparberg is currently backed by a new multi-million pound marketing campaign entitled Fånga Dagen across TV, press, digital, outdoor, PR and social media. A new TV ad takes its inspiration from the same phrase, which is the Swedish way of saying ‘life is what you make it’.

New flavours typically bring new sales and Heineken’s Bulmers added Wild Blueberry & Lime to its range earlier this year to cash in on the popularity of blueberry as a flavour in other categories.

Sherwood-Smith said at the time of the launch: “Blueberries’ popularity is soaring in the UK yet, surprisingly, there is currently no mainstream blueberry flavoured cider in the market, until now. The new Bulmers Wild Blueberry & Lime cider addresses both consumer demand for blueberries and the trend for experimenting with different flavoured ciders.”

She adds that Heineken’s expertise with NPD in cider is unrivalled and, most importantly, it works. “Last year’s launch, Bulmers Zesty Blood Orange, was the biggest cider NPD of 2015. It brought one million people into the Bulmers brand, 50% of which were new to the cider category.”

As well as the trend for fruit-flavoured ciders there are now more alcoholic drinks with added cider. Pimm’s, British cider and a hint of fruitiness is how Diageo describes its Pimm’s Cider Cup range, which this year was boosted by the addition of three new flavours – Summer Fruits, Mango & Passionfruit and Plum & Red Apple. These follow the successful launch of Pimm’s Cider Cup Strawberry & Cucumber in June last year.

Claire O’Neill, innovation commercialisation manager at Diageo, says: “Our insight shows us that frequent cider drinkers are more likely to experiment by trying something new.

“With its truly different, less sweet and more fermented taste, the newly extended Pimm’s Cider Cup range provides innovation that taps into this lucrative category and we’re confident it will drive sales for licensees.”

Diageo’s latest innovation mixes cider with vodka to create Smirnoff Cider in two flavours – Raspberry & Pomegranate and Passionfruit & Lime. It’s described as lightly fizzed cider with a blend of crisp, fruit flavours combined with Smirnoff vodka.

It comes in “an innovative clear glass bottle”, which Diageo says will make it stand out from other fruit ciders as its simple style aims to convey the crisp, clean taste of the liquid.

O’Neill continues: “There have been a number of innovations in the fruit cider category over the past few years, and as the market continues to grow in both the on and off-trade channels, we still see that there is potential to grow the category even further.

“By entering into the fruit cider category under the strength of the Smirnoff brand name, and with two original flavour offerings, we’re confident Smirnoff will take cider to the next level.”





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