Soft Drinks: Refreshments for All!

Mixers, cordials, sparkling offerings and more, the Christmas cabinet isn’t just about the alcoholic beverages. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more essential offerings ahead of the festive shopping season…

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Brand Central

Christmas may be predominantly about parties, cocktails and wine, but Irish consumers wouldn’t be without their soft drinks either, especially at this time of year. Whether it’s a cold drink in the morning, something with dinner or a cocktail mixer, soft drinks brands have come a long way in recent years, bringing a renewed focus on natural flavours and value for money as well as the all-important taste.

Soft drinks are essential for party season, and with these more sophisticated choices for all ages and palates, no shelf space will be going to waste.

Fruit fantastic

To add to its already-popular range, Britvic Ireland has announced two new sub-ranges of its Robinson’s Real Fruit in Every Drop offering. The new ranges include Robinsons Fruit Creations and Robinsons Fruit Cordials and will be available to order from this month onwards.

Each variant in the all-new Robinsons Fruit Creations brings a range of fresh and exciting flavours, containing twice the fruit of the current core Robinsons range. With three flavours to choose from, this range, available in one litre format, contains no added sugar and is set to appeal to adults looking for more exciting flavour blends. Robinsons Fruit Creations is available in Delicious Pear & Blueberry, Juicy Peach & Raspberry, and Juicy Orange Mandarin & Lime. The RSP is €2.69, with each flavour providing consumers with a perfectly balanced drink bursting with flavour.

In addition, a premium, sophisticated Robinsons Fruit Cordials range has been introduced, bringing exciting combinations of real fruit and botanicals to consumers. Sweetened from natural sources with no artificial sweeteners, colours or flavours, and has only 50 calories per serving. There are three new flavour combinations: Pressed Pear & Elderflower; Crushed Lime & Mint and Raspberry, Rhubarb & Orange Blossom, all with an RSP of €4. The new range is now available in a bespoke 500ml glass bottle offering consumers a more refined drinking experience.

“We are committed to meeting the changing needs of our consumers,” says Dee Cunniam, marketing manager for Britvic Ireland. “Our new product range offers new and exciting fruit pairings to both the Robinsons brand and the flavour enhancer category which have been expertly selected by our flavour enthusiasts. Robinsons is the perfect low-sugar refreshing drink suitable for both kids and grown-ups.”

The launch of the new Robinsons Fruit Cordials and Robinsons Fruit Creations will be supported by an in-store activation programme and a significant above-the-line campaign including an all-new Robinsons Fruit Creations TV advertisement.

Find the force

This winter, Volvic has allied with upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: The Last Jedi to help consumers “Find the Force”. With branding synonymous with one of the year’s most anticipated films, Volvic bottles will bear a new label design featuring Star Wars characters and phrases. The creative implies expressing inner strength and finding the Force, one of the central themes of the film.

The launch coincides with the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will come to cinemas across Ireland from 14 December 2017. To raise awareness of the product launch, Volvic will support the initiative with a heavyweight campaign, including TV, Out Of Home and digital content.

Volvic started working with Disney in 2015 with a similar promotion with the prior Star Wars film, and has continuously seen sales uplifts during activation periods. The partnership fits with the Disney corporation’s move to establish clear nutritional guidelines, part of the company’s ongoing commitment to make healthy living “simple and fun”.

Healthy and exotic

Irish rugby legend Jamie Heaslip is spearheading the campaign behind CocoFuzion100, a new, naturally great-tasting sparkling organic coconut water. It was launched this year by C7 Brands Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Irish based Prime Active Capital plc.

Made from tender young coconuts sourced from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, CocoFuzion100 contains 100% natural coconut water, natural flavours and just the right amount of natural sugars to help keep consumers hydrated throughout the day. It is specially designed and built for the health-conscious, and is not only a great alternative to traditional soft drinks but makes a unique choice as a spirit mixer.

This sparkling coconut water is naturally isotonic, meaning it is absorbed by the body more efficiently than water, making it ideal for sports and fitness. It contains the perfect balance of sugar and electrolytes to create the same osmotic pressure as the body. After exercising, it helps to replace fluids lost during sweat, restores electrolytes depleted during exercise and reduces cramping and gastric distress compared to other more conventional sports drinks.

CocoFuzion100’s gluten-free, naturally low-calorie composition makes it also a great choice as a mixer, for those requiring natural flavours to enhance the spirits they are combined with.

The sparkling coconut water is available in four tasty flavours; Natural, Raspberry, Mango and Lime and is available to purchase from all major convenience store retailers.

Superior taste

Creators of the finest-quality botanical drinks since 1905, Fentimans’ award-winning artisanal beverages are handcrafted, using the finest natural ingredients from all around the world.  To create a superior taste and wonderful mouth feel, unlike other producers of carbonated drinks, Fentimans makes its drinks using the time-honoured botanical brewing technique. Using this traditional technique, it takes a full seven days to make a Fentimans beverage.

Fentimans’ original recipe took the finest ginger root which was bruised, crushed and milled. The ginger was then placed in copper steam jacketed pans containing spring water, and gradually heated to simmering point. This induced the release and extraction of fine ginger sediment and a flavoursome botanical extract. The botanical liquid was then filtered into a wooden vat. The finest herbs, natural flavouring, sugar and brewer’s yeast were added to the botanical extract and the liquid was thoroughly stirred.

The concoction was then left to ferment in the wooden fermentation vat, after which the live ginger beer was then decanted from the wooden vat into the iconic stone jars, known affectionately as “Grey Hens”, where it came up to condition and was ready to drink within a week.

It is this traditional botanical brewing process that produces the depth of flavour, feel and rich texture which are the hallmark of Fentimans drinks today. This is the Fentimans way, which has stood the test of time – with the knowledge and expertise being passed from generation to generation of the Fentimans family. The result is a superior tasting natural range of beverages which can be enjoyed straight from the bottle.  Fentimans soft drinks are available in a variety of unique flavours, in both 275ml and 750ml bottles.  For more information, visit www.fentimans.com.

Growth of an icon

With the ‘mixers’ category worth €15.7m, having grown 18% year on year across the island of Ireland, the classic mixers range Schweppes is primed for further growth with a number of exciting brand and pack developments planned.

As the brand leader, delivering 54% of the category value*, the iconic “Schweppes” name comes from its founder, Jacob Schweppe, who created the first Schweppes Lemonade in 1835 and refreshes consumers to this day. The expanding range includes Soda Water, Bitter Lemon, Ginger Ale Slimline Tonic and brand signature, the legendary Indian Tonic Water. The tonic only uses natural flavourings and contains the highest-quality ingredients including quinine from cinchona bark.

2017 is a year of innovation for the brand, says Eimhear Daly, brand manager for Coca-Cola Ireland. “This is just the start of an exciting new chapter for Schweppes,” says Daly. “Consumers are continuing to look for new flavours and innovation, and we have plans in place for the coming months that will see unique flavour extensions of the core range and the development of a more premium mixer offering appealing to current and new Schweppes drinkers. This will be supported by a significant marketing campaign to promote the new products.”

Along with the launch of a 4pack 200ml glass range in Schweppes Classic Tonic, the mixer brand will further make an impact in-store this month with the launch of a new look. The new modern pack design will be seen across all grocery SKUs including the 1L pack, the 12 x 150ml minican multipack and the new 4pack glass.

Schweppes Classic Tonic will be further brought to life with an added value promotion which sees the popular ‘Balloon Glasses’ available to consumers with the purchase of the 1L.

This is just the start of the investment in the brand, with an integrated marketing plan also underway. For the first time in many years, the brand is benefitting from above-the-line investment to include TV, out-of-home, digital and social media marketing.

For more information, contact your local Coca-Cola HBC representative or visit ie.CocaColaHellenic.com or CocaCola.ie. *(Source: Nielson Value Sales Total NARTD, IOI May 2017)

Holiday sparkle

Coca-Cola HBC Ireland has revealed details of its much-loved Christmas campaign for 2017, which includes a return of the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour and the ‘Holidays Are Coming’ TV advert, plus limited-edition Christmas packs and exciting consumer experiential in Dublin and Belfast City.

The festive packs, which rolled out mid-November, will include the iconic image of Santa Claus enjoying a bottle of Coca-Cola. The graphics will feature on Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Classic and Diet Coke packs including 500ml, 1.75L bottles as well as on multi-packs cans. The new packs will be supported by the return of the ‘Holidays Are Coming’ advert in mid-November, followed by the Coca-Cola Truck’s tour of Ireland, commencing on 26 November.

The famous truck will visit 10 stops in Ireland and Northern Ireland over the course of the tour. At each stop, the public will have the opportunity to take a complimentary souvenir photo with the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas Truck. People will also have a chance to experience a virtual sleigh ride through the forest and can play a festive version of Pass the Parcel throughout the queue. The Dublin Gospel Choir will perform at each of the stops to add to the festive spirit.

“Coca-Cola is a brand that has been synonymous with Christmas for generations,” says Martina Loventinska, head of customer marketing at CCHBC Ireland. “Many people consider the launch of the Holidays Are Coming advert and the Coca-Cola Truck tour as the unofficial start of the festive season! “Last year,” she says, “shoppers spent over €1m more on soft drinks compared to 2015. We expect this year to be even bigger, with spend estimated to reach €950m, showing the huge opportunity for retailers during the festive period.

“With all the activity we have planned, we are confident that Coca-Cola will continue to be the soft drink of choice for Christmas 2017,” Loventinska adds. For full details about the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour’s timings and locations, log onto www.coca-cola.ie/truck.

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