French lager brand 1664 appears to be eyeing a move into the fruit beer category.
It has applied to register a trademark with the UK Intellectual Property Office for the term ‘1664 Fruit Fusions’. The application was for a class 32 mark covering beers, non-alcoholic beers, non-alcoholic beverages, beer-based drinks and non-alcoholic beer-based drinks.
Fruit beers are enjoying a surge in popularity in the UK, led by the growth of popular fruit lager Jubel. Its off-trade sales have surged by 106% to £6.4m, on volumes up 112% [NIQ 52 we 19 April 2025]
Meanwhile, other brands including BrewDog and Beavertown have also launched fruit beers into mainstream retail in recent months.
In its domestic French market, 1664 already sells fruit beers including 1664 Rosé, 1664 Mûre Myrtille, 1664 Passion Fruit and 1664 Blanc Fruits Rouges.
1664 Rosé contains “a touch of peach and raspberry” while Mûre Myrtille features “flavours of blackberry and blueberry and floral notes”.
Blanc Fruits Rouges, meanwhile, offers “raspberry flavours with subtle notes of exotic fruit and coriander”.
Approached for comment, 1664 supplier Carlsberg Britvic remained tight lipped, however.
“Carlsberg Britvic files a significant amount of intellectual property applications, in particular trademark applications,” said a Carlsberg Britvic spokeswoman. “There are many reasons why we might file trademark applications, including to protect a particular name or phrase which is associated with a current or potential future proposition.”
Not all of Carlsberg Britvic’s trademark activity would “result in a consumer-facing proposition”, the spokeswoman stressed.
“At this stage we have no further information that we can share on the particular filing in question,” they added.
Value sales of 1664 are near flat in the UK, with the brand’s recently relaunched 1664 Blanc offsetting declines of its flagship, namesake lager [NIQ].
Carlsberg acquired the rights to produce 1664 in the UK from Heineken in mid-2023.
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