Picks of the Week

BARR LAUNCHES FRUITY LEMONADES

The company says the new sub-range has been created to meet the needs of Gen Z shoppers, who are the heaviest soft drinks consumers.

Barr Soft Drinks is set to add incremental summer sales to the soft drinks category with the launch of its latest innovation – Barr Fruity Lemonades.

The new sub-range, Barr Fruity Lemonades, has been created to meet the needs of Gen Z shoppers, who are the heaviest soft drinks consumers. Barr Fruity Lemonade Cherry and Fruity Lemonade Blue will be available from June this year, across all channels.

Adrian Troy, Marketing Director at Barr Soft Drinks, said: “Barr is well known for its wide range of tasty and enticing flavours. With flavoured carbonates acting as the perfect entry point into the soft drinks category, new product innovation is key for retailers looking to drive incremental sales.

“Barr Fruity Lemonades offers shoppers something really quite different, blending big, full-on fruit flavours with a refreshing lemonade finish.”

The company said that in consumer research with 12-24-yearolds, both new flavours performed extremely well, with more than 85% saying they would buy it again and 77% of non-Barr drinkers confirming intent to purchase.

Troy added: “We are launching this exciting NPD alongside an exciting range of POS across all channels. Retailers should stock up on both flavours and make use of this eye-catching POS to grab shoppers’ attention and encourage impulse sales throughout the summer months, a key sales period for soft drinks.”

The range is available in outers of 12 x 500ml PET bottles (RSP 89p).

RIBENA UNVEILS NEW BRAND POSITIONING

The brand has launched a new £7m campaign featuring a TV commercial, online video, out-of-home, social media, and in-store marketing.

Ribena has unveiled a new brand positioning to drive further relevancy across its range of drinks, helping retailers grow their sales.

The brand is rolling out a new campaign this summer that is rooted in those awkward moments that at the time make you want the ground to swallow you up, but when shared with friends, these moments make everyone laugh. Ribena helps people keep their “chin up” through these moments and see the funny side.

The new creative is driven by the tagline ‘Chin Up’, which is also a link to the physical action of taking a sip of Ribena.

The campaign features a new TV commercial, online video, out-of-home, social media, and in-store marketing prompting shoppers to reach for the drink “when it’s Ri-bena bit awkward”.

The campaign launches today (1 June) with a £7m investment, which will help it to reach 91% of adults in the UK, at least seven times.

Charlotte Flook, Head of Ribena at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I, said: “With the brand in strong growth of 15%, now is the perfect time to launch our new campaign. ‘Chin Up’ puts our brand’s cheeky, irreverent personality at its heart by encouraging the nation to reach for a Ribena to help them laugh through life’s awkward little stumbles.”

The brand says retailers should ensure their chillers and soft drink aisles are well-stocked across the brand’s core range to take advantage of the buzz created by the campaign.

They can also display point-of-sale materials to bring ‘Chin Up’ to life in-store.

WKD PARTNERS WITH LOVE ISLAND FOR SECOND YEAR

The tie-up will see ads airing across ITV2, ITV Hub, video-on-demand, and the official Love Island app.

SHS Drinks has struck an exclusive deal for WKD to be the Official Alcohol Partner of Love Island series 8; a summer campaign of support will amplify the brand’s association with the ITV2 show.

The high-profile tie-in will see WKD on TV with ads showcasing the programme association. Airing across ITV2, ITV Hub, video-on-demand, and the official Love Island app, the broadcast elements of the campaign will reach 7.2m UK viewers.

Bringing the partnership to life at the point of purchase, two impactful co-branded initiatives will cement the sponsorship association in the eyes of the consumer:

● A striking co-branded design will appear on limited edition WKD Pink 700ml bottles.

● A co-branded offer on all WKD 10-packs will create opportunities to win exclusive Love Island merchandise.

WKD will have a robust activation programme with display space and impactful POS as part of a nationwide focus in depots, and tailored content on WKD social channels will create consumer awareness of retailers’ offers and help drive store footfall.

A Love Island promotion, as part of an activation in pubs and bars, will feature for the first time this year as an additional strand of the campaign.

Alison Gray, Head of Brand – WKD, at SHS Drinks, said: “Consumer and trade feedback was extremely positive last year and we’re back with an all-inclusive package deal that’s even bigger and better. Consumers are going to see WKD and Love Island brands partnered up on TV, partnered up on retailers’ shelves and partnered up on social media. In addition, this year we’ll be filming exclusive WKD content on location in the sun and also setting Islanders some of our very own cheeky ‘YourWKDSide’ challenges. As 2022’s winning couple, WKD and Love Island are going to serve up some sizzling summer fun to entertain, engage and engender sales growth for retailers.”

PUSH TO DRIVE FRUITY GUM SALES WITH NEW CAMPAIGN

The brand has launched a new £7m campaign featuring a TV commercial, online video, out-of-home, social media, and in-store marketing.

Mars Wrigley is continuing to drive category growth through fruit gum with a Flavour Vote campaign this summer. The campaign, which runs until 17 July, will give consumers the opportunity to vote for their favourite EXTRA fruity flavour.

Mars Wrigley has partnered with social publisher LADbible for the campaign to drive awareness, developing content that resonates with young audiences across its Facebook, TikTok and Instagram platforms, to a combined audience of 59.8 million. Posts will feature influencers, including Cole Anderson and Love Island’s Joanna Chimonides, each representing a flavour of EXTRA’s fruity range. Influencers will take part in a series of social-first games to encourage consumers to vote for their favourite flavour.

To vote, consumers can visit the EXTRA gum website, or scan the QR code shown on point of sale for EXTRA fruity gum in store. They can also cast their vote via SMS by texting ‘VOTE’ with the flavour of their choice to 60163.

The Flavour Vote campaign is the next phase of Mars Wrigley’s continued approach to recruit consumers to the fruity gum category, which now accounts for more than one-quarter of gum market value in the UK.

Hannah Lee, Senior Brand Manager, EXTRA, at Mars Wrigley, said: “As fruit flavoured gum continues to grow in popularity, the Flavour Vote campaign is a fun way to engage with consumers to grow the category. This campaign also helps drive awareness of EXTRA fruity flavours, including the newest additions to the range, Apple and Blueberry, whilst driving footfall in-store as consumers seek out the different fruit.”

HELP TO TAP INTO DEMAND FOR HEALTHIER BISCUITS

The company has launched a new and improved recipe for Go Ahead Fruit Slices, which offers shoppers more fibre, with less sugar and salt.

Snacking company Pladis is helping retailers tap into demand for healthier biscuits with a new and improved recipe for its bestselling Go Ahead Fruit Slices.

The recipe update offers shoppers more fibre, with less sugar and salt. Consisting of the same light-textured, crispy baked biscuit – encasing the brand’s signature chewy sultana, currants and fruit flavour filling – each individually packaged portion comes in at an average of just 54 kcals per slice.

The change comes hot off the heels of a recipe update for Go Ahead’s popular Fruit & Oat Bakes in February this year and marks the next step in Pladis’ ongoing efforts to offer shoppers even more choice when it comes to snacking.

Charlotte Priest, Senior Brand Manager – Go Ahead at Pladis UK&I, said: “With a heightened nationwide focus on health, more and more shoppers are actively seeking snacks which deliver on both taste and health credentials. This means that now, more than ever, Healthier Biscuits represent an attractive and scalable growth opportunity for retailers.

“As the leading brand in low calorie snacking, Go Ahead is perfectly placed to help retailers unlock additional Healthier Biscuits sales. In fact, the uplift in demand for products which fall under this sub-category is something we’re already seeing reflected in the performance of the brand – worth £30.1m and growing +2.8%.

“By bringing our bestselling product – Go Ahead Fruit Slices – under the HFSS legislation threshold, we’ll attract a ream of health-conscious consumers looking out for healthier options. This will enable us to build on Go Ahead’s already strong momentum, all whilst helping retailers take an even bigger bite out of healthier snacking sales.”

ELFBAR LAUNCHES FIRST OUTDOOR CAMPAIGN

The vape brand has big plans to build on its success in the UK and is significantly investing in its promotional efforts.

ElfBar, a manufacturer of disposable vaping products, has launched its first outdoor advertising campaign in the UK.

The vape product brand is predicting major growth in the UK as the country returns to normality after the pandemic and the squeeze on household budgets creates an extra incentive for smokers to consider much more cost-effective vaping as a way to quit their habits.

The advertising campaign promoting ElfBar’s Mate 500 product is being featured on hundreds of billboards and buses in and around London. The range has introduced five new flavours including Peach Ice, Cotton Candy, Strawberry Ice Cream, Spearmint and Strawberry Banana. As a rechargeable device with a refillable pod, Mate 500 appeals to users who want to be kind to the environment when they are vaping.

Daisy Luo, UK Country Lead for ElfBar, said: “ElfBar has been tremendously successful in the UK and we have big plans to build on the brand’s success to date. The UK marketplace represents one of the fastest-growing opportunities for our business globally, so we are significantly investing in our promotional efforts to increase our market share through our retail partners.”

She added: “The policy environment, the recognition by the healthcare community of the opportunity presented by vaping in getting smokers to quit their habits, the growing acceptance of vaping’s role in supporting a smokefree future and the professionalism and responsibility shown by all those involved in the vaping industry, make the UK our top target worldwide to do business.”

The Mate 500, which provides 500 puffs, is also available in 13 original flavours – Blueberry, Grape, Cola, Blueberry Raspberry, Cream Tobacco, Watermelon, Strawberry, Energy, Mango, Blue Razz Lemonade, Banana, Pink Lemonade, and Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava.

ROBINSONS UNVEILS BIG FRUIT HUNT

The £1.5m campaign centres around a digital Augmented Reality fruit hunt, which has more than 90,000 prizes up for grabs.

Squash brand Robinsons is continuing its biggest summer activity to date with the launch of its ‘Big Fruit Hunt’.

The £1.5m campaign centres around a digital Augmented Reality fruit hunt, created to encourage families to flavour their water bottles with Robinsons. The activation will inspire families to get active together this summer and ensure the Robinsons brand continues to be front of mind for shoppers across a key season for soft drinks.

More than 90,000 prizes will be up for grabs in the ‘Big Fruit Hunt’ game, including bespoke Robinsons water bottles and outdoor activity kits.

Running from 1 June until 2 September across the brand’s squash promotional packs, a QR Code will feature on-pack, where shoppers can scan and be taken to an interactive map to find virtual fruit to fill a water bottle and collect prizes. The campaign will include in-store, out-of-home, POS, digital, and social activations.

Ben Parker, GB Retail Commercial Director at Britvic, said: “This summer, we want to bring families together and get outdoors by taking part in the ‘Big Fruit Hunt’. Robinsons remains the number one squash brand in convenience with nearly 50% share of the category. With Robinsons Ready to Drink as the official soft drinks partner for The Hundred cricket tournament and the launch of the ‘Big Fruit Hunt’, we’re making sure that there is something for everyone this summer and drive further sales for retailers.”

Robinsons will also be partnering with Heart Radio’s breakfast show, which is presented by Jamie Theakston and Zoe Hardman. The show will be running a one-week on-air promotion – the live ‘Big Fruit Hunt’ rooftop game and online competition, along with sponsored ads on weekend mornings during the summer. In addition, each month, Heart Radio listeners will be challenged to find hidden fruit on its social channels and website, with the chance of winning a family day out, plus Robinsons squash supplies.

PICKS OF THE WEEK

BLAST OFF

World of Sweets is launching three new Pez dispensers to coincide with the new Buzz Lightyear film. Two of the dispensers are of Buzz Lightyear and the third Buzz’s personal companion Sox. Each pack contains one dispenser and individually wrapped packs of Pez refill sweets.

MICRO MEALS

Ben’s Original is introducing a series of vegetarian microwaveable meals. The launch sees Chilli Non-carne, Spicy Lentil Stew and Sweet Potato & Chickpea Tikka Masala all become part of the regular range, as well as limited edition Korean BBQ and Katsu Curry dishes.

SUMMER CITRUS

Diageo is relaunching its Cîroc Summer Citrus vodka as a permanent line following a successful limited launch in 2021. Summer Citrus – available now to convenience and wholesale, as well as the wider off-trade and the on-trade – sold out during its launch last summer.

RAISING THE BAR

Geek Bar has revamped its S600 vape range in a bid to increase its market share in the UK specialist and convenience retail sectors. The S600 range has been modernised to include a new rectangular shape to enhance the ergonomics of the device.

TWIGLET TWIST

Pladis has updated the recipe for Jacob’s Twiglets to make it HFSS-compliant. The reformulation comes alongside a fresh new look across the entire Jacob’s Twiglets portfolio. The redesignputs greater emphasis on the benefits the snack can offer.

MCCORMICK MOVE

Seasoning giant McCormick is launching Old Bay Seasoning in the UK. Old Bay is a blend of 14 herbs and spices which is appropriate for a wide range of dishes, like burgers, chicken, seafood, chips, popcorn and pasta. It will be available in fully recyclable 75g tins at an RSP of £2.99.