Zeo

Adult soft drink Zeo is making a play for a bigger slice of the convenience market with the launch of its first canned products.

The brand, which relaunched its stylish glass bottles in April this year, is rolling slimline 99p price-marked cans into Booker and Bestway this month. It will be available in three flavours in the new format - Peach & Grapefruit, Zesty Lime and Blood Orange & Citrus - with each can containing 27 calories.

“At Zeo we are committed to not only providing consumers with the great tasting product they demand, but also to challenging soft drink norms,” said marketing director Ian Greengrass. “We believe brands like Zeo can really drive and shape the category, with low sugar drinks that don’t compromise on taste.”

April’s relaunch highlighted Zeo’s natural ingredients and lower calorie content. When launched in 2011, brand owner Free­drinks - a subsidiary of a Russian business owned by billionaire Igor Sosin – focused Zeo primarily on the on-trade, but the war on sugar has prompted Freedrinks to switch its focus to retail.

“With all the media noise around sugar, consumers were telling us a big interest was Zeo’s low sugar and calorific intake,” CEO Mark Young told The Grocer earlier this year, adding the drink had been reformulated to further cut calories.

With the old logo designed to appeal to on-trade customers, it was revamped for the retail market and to reflect the idea of “natural, bright refreshment” that will carry through to a £3m marketing push.