Monster Hydro lineup

Coca-Cola European Partners is looking to broaden the appeal of its Monster brand with the launch of Monster Hydro – a new ‘refreshment’ energy drink and the first bottled Monster range in the UK.

The  soft drinks giant wants to tap demand for thirst-quenching options by targeting the ‘refreshment’ subsector of energy currently dominated by Lucozade Energy and Lucozade Zero.

Monster Hydro will roll out later this month in a colourless 550ml PET. It has a wide mouth to make the beverage ‘chuggable’. Non-carbonated for easier drinking, the lineup will be available in three flavours: Tropical Thunder, Mean Green and Manic Melon.

Each contains about 4.6g of sugar per 100ml, putting it below the threshold of next April’s soft drinks levy. To position the NPD as an ‘everyday’ choice, it is less caffeinated than a typical Monster variant, with 25mg per 100ml as opposed to 32mg (rsp: £1.15/PMP: £1.09).

The launch formed part of a new strategy to drive incremental growth in the category by increasing frequency of purchase among existing energy drinkers and attracting additional consumers through new flavours and formats, said Simon Harrison, CCEP GB’s operational marketing director.

Monster Hydro was an “example of how we are investing in our portfolio of leading brands to offer consumers more choice”, he added.

It will be supported by sampling to “get the product into people’s hands”, targeting “mainstream” locations such as railway stations and city centres.