A beer-style smoothie that aims to get men drinking healthy soft drinks is set to hit supermarket shelves next year.
Newly created soft drinks company The Juice Brewery is declaring its new Hoppers range to be the first “soft brews” - an adult version of soft drinks. Hoppers are fruit-based but contain hops and malt, which provide a beer-flavour and frothy head when poured into a glass. The range is said to contain fewer calories than beer and comes in apple, citrus and blackcurrant flavours, rsp £1.30.
They are the first products to be launched by The Juice Brewery, which was set up in June by the former head of Diageo’s global innovation team, Tim Dewey, and he believes the Hoppers brand will reach £1m in first-year sales. “Most soft drinks on the market are unpleasantly sweet and goody-two-shoes - definitely not something that most men would feel confident drinking,” said Dewey. “We realised there was a big gap in the market for a delicious grown-up soft drink and so, taking our inspiration from the brewery, we invented what we call a ‘soft-brew’ - a soft drink with enough attitude and maturity to be consumed by men at home or in a pub.”
Hoppers will be sampled at Gordon Ramsay’s Taste of Christmas food festival next week and Dewey said further sampling activities were in the pipeline.
The range is available to buy from this week in selected independent stores in London but the company is currently in discussions with Waitrose and aims to roll out Hoppers across the country next year.
Newly created soft drinks company The Juice Brewery is declaring its new Hoppers range to be the first “soft brews” - an adult version of soft drinks. Hoppers are fruit-based but contain hops and malt, which provide a beer-flavour and frothy head when poured into a glass. The range is said to contain fewer calories than beer and comes in apple, citrus and blackcurrant flavours, rsp £1.30.
They are the first products to be launched by The Juice Brewery, which was set up in June by the former head of Diageo’s global innovation team, Tim Dewey, and he believes the Hoppers brand will reach £1m in first-year sales. “Most soft drinks on the market are unpleasantly sweet and goody-two-shoes - definitely not something that most men would feel confident drinking,” said Dewey. “We realised there was a big gap in the market for a delicious grown-up soft drink and so, taking our inspiration from the brewery, we invented what we call a ‘soft-brew’ - a soft drink with enough attitude and maturity to be consumed by men at home or in a pub.”
Hoppers will be sampled at Gordon Ramsay’s Taste of Christmas food festival next week and Dewey said further sampling activities were in the pipeline.
The range is available to buy from this week in selected independent stores in London but the company is currently in discussions with Waitrose and aims to roll out Hoppers across the country next year.
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