hardys

Accolade Wines looks set to take Hardys into the booming non-alcoholic wine category.

The Aussie wine giant has applied to register a new class 32 trademark for Hardys, covering alcohol-free and de-alcoholised wines, with the Intellectual Property Office.

A spokesman for Accolade said the business “continues to listen and respond to consumer demand and is always investing in innovation”.

Accolade earlier this year took Hardys into 50cl bottles as part of an ongoing drive to refresh its plonk portfolio, which also includes the likes of Echo Falls and Mud House.

Hardys is currently the UK’s best-selling wine brand. However, it has struggled to keep up in the supermarkets thanks to challenges from posher brands.

Sales were down £20.9m (7.2%) to £271.3m over the last year [Nielsen 52 w/e 21 April 2018]. It has also faced numerous delistings in Morrisons and Tesco since the spring [Brand View 52 w/e 19 October 2018].