WKD is jumping on the dark fruits bandwagon with its own spin on the massive cider trend, The Grocer can reveal.
WKD Dark Fruit (4% abv) will roll out in the spring, with an eye to tapping “the power of the easily understood ‘dark fruit’ concept” for an RTD audience, said WKD owner SHS Drinks, confirming the move.
It will launch in 275ml and 700ml bottles, backed by a “comprehensive” marketing push spanning in-store, PoS, social and digital advertising with “suitably WKD tongue-in-cheek messaging”.
The NPD would “deliver reappraisal of the whole brand and have a hugely positive halo effect on all WKD variants”, said SHS head of alcohol brand marketing Nick White. It would also “ensure that WKD remains fresh and relevant to its core 18 to 24-year-old target market”, he added.
Dark fruit flavoured ciders have taken the supermarkets by storm, led by the phenomenal success of Strongbow Dark Fruit.
It has proved an enduring trend, particularly among younger shoppers, with rival ciders such as Magners, Kopparberg and Stowford Press releasing their own competitors. Yet this will be the first time it has reared its head in RTDs.
It follows the launch of WKD Pink last July, which put the brand’s own spin on the pink gin trend and racked up £2.1m in its first five months [Nielsen 52 w/e 21 December 2019].
Total RTD sales surged last year: the category grew 17.7% (£49.2m) to £327.7m [Nielsen 52 w/e 7 September 2019].
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