Halewood International has introduced a female-friendly RTD under the Red Square banner and revamped its original Reloaded RTD, in a bid to rejuvenate the brand.

The activity sees the introduction of Moscow Mule (rsp: £2.99 for a 70cl bottle) - a ginger, lime and vodka RTD the company claims will appeal more to women due to its sweeter flavour and lighter taste. Halewood said it expected the new drink to capitalise on growing consumer enthusiasm for ginger-based products, following strong sales of its Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer, which was launched in February.

The revamped Reloaded bottles will feature updated packaging using computer graphics-inspired imagery, designed to appeal to the drink's 18 to 24-year-old target market. The revamp follows market research conducted by Halewood.

"While we feel that Moscow Mule will appeal particularly to women, this product is not meant to exclude men either, as we have demonstrated in its non-gender-specific bottle design," said Halewood's head of innovation, Richard Clark. "While Red Square Reloaded is more popular with males - 75% of its drinkers are men aged 18 to 24 - we want to target both sexes with what is now a pair of RTD products under the Red Square umbrella."

Clark continued: "The RTD market has evolved considerably since its first appearance 10 years ago and our products and their packaging need to reflect these changes if we want to tap into new trends.

"We are already developing additional ideas to further target the pre-mix drinks sector and build the Red Square brand."

Marketing support for the new and revamped products will include point-of-sale material, sampling, digital marketing and consumer press advertising. The activity comes as part of a £500,000 total spend on the brand for 2009. The drinks will be rolled out across the off-trade from next week.

The moves mark the fourth major launch from Halewood so far this year, following the introduction of Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer as well as Lamb's Spiced Rum and Lambrini Rosé.

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