Cointreau has added a chilli-infused liqueur designed to meet growing demand for spicy margaritas.
Cointreau Spicy (rsp: £27/50cl) is an orange liqueur that has been macerated with birds eye chilli and infused with “natural chilli and jalapeño flavourings”.
A touch of “natural cucumber flavour” adds “fresh, vegetal ‘green’ notes” to the tipple, which rolls out in retail from this month.
It had been developed amid “accelerating demand for spicy serves”, said Cointreau.
UK searches for “simple spicy margarita recipe” were up 350% in the space of two years, and the Spicy Margarita was now the ninth-highest ranking of Difford’s Guide’s Top 100 Cocktails, the supplier noted.
Social occasions were “fuelling the category’s growth”, said Cointreau, citing its own research of 2,000 adults in which nearly half of Brits (44%) said they were influenced by friends when choosing a spicy drink on a night out.
The data showed that spice was moving “firmly into the mainstream,” said Nick Ganich, marketing director at Cointreau brand owner Rémy Cointreau.
“Consumers are increasingly looking for drinks that deliver excitement while maintaining a well-balanced flavour profile,” he said. “With spicy margaritas emerging as one of the fastest-growing cocktail trends, Cointreau Spicy has been developed to make it easy to create consistent, great-tasting spicy cocktails at home or in bars, helping unlock one of the fastest-growing trends and bring incremental value to the category.”
Carole Quinton, master distiller at Cointreau, added: “For Cointreau Spicy, we wanted to capture a real sense of warmth and intensity through natural chilli, whilst preserving the bright orange signature that defines Cointreau.
“It’s vibrant, bold and made to elevate the Spicy Margarita, but it’s also incredibly versatile, from cocktails to simple shots.”
The launch of Cointreau Spicy will be supported by consumer and trade activations including a branded Cointreau Margarita Bar at Taste of London and a pop-up at BST Hyde Park.
It comes after Absolut teamed up with Tabasco to launch a launch a spicy vodka inspired by the red pepper sauce in January.
Got a standout launch? Enter The Grocer New Product Awards by the new deadline of 15 June. Submit your food and drink or household and personal care products now
No comments yet