Highland Spring is to extend into flavoured still water with a trio of bottled drinks.
Strawberry, Apple & Blackcurrant, and Lemon & Lime will roll into Tesco stores from April.
The HFSS compliant and sugar-free trio would initially be available in 750ml (rsp: £1.50) and 1.25l (rsp: £1.10) PET recyclable plastic bottles, Highland Spring said.
A 500ml format (rsp: £1.40) for impulse and convenience channels would roll out subsequently, it added.
Citing NIQ data, Highland Spring said the flavoured still water category was experiencing “encouraging growth”, with volume and value sales up by 2.4% and 10.7% respectively [NIQ 26 we 24 February].
Entering the 400 million litre category was therefore “a clear next step in the evolution of the Highland Spring brand and business”, it added.
Simon Oldham, Highland Spring’s MD, said the brand had opted for the “tried and tested” flavours of Strawberry and Lemon & Lime for its flavoured water debut, as well as a variant with blackcurrant in as this was “the most popular squash flavour” in the UK.
He dismissed concerns the launch of Highland Spring’s flavoured range could cannibalise sales of its regular still water products.
“There is obviously an overlap between plain and flavoured consumers, but a huge amount of the consumers are discrete,” he said. “Even within the overlap, people tell us they often buy both.
“We expect the vast majority of consumers to be incremental, if not to the category then to the brand.”
The launch will be supported by a seven-figure campaign comprising sampling, in-store ‘on and off’ shelf POS and social and digital.
Highland Spring sales grew by 3.3%, to £158.7m in 2023, according to The Grocer’s Britain’s Biggest Brands Report.
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