Forget the kids. Suppliers are wising up to the appeal of sophisticated soft drinks for grown ups with chic innovations says Sheila Eggleston Asking for non alcoholic drinks no longer has any stigma attached. Adult soft drinks in their sophisticated packaging have become cool, hip, style icons in their own right and well worth trading up to, and unlike other soft drinks, they aren't dependent on the weather. Adults are claimed to account for 70% of the population and they drink around half of all soft drinks, therefore getting the offering right means huge rewards. Britvic's recognition of the category's growth led to its acquisition of Orchid Drinks last year, allowing it to swallow up Aqua Libra, Amé and Purdey's. It has also revived an Orchid Drinks fruit cordial called Tapestry currently on trial in Waitrose. A heavy investment programme has since been put into effect to double the range's value to £32m within five years. Director of category planning Sue Garfitt says: "Orchid Drinks didn't have the infrastructure to drive penetration and distribution, but Britvic has, and with our expertise we aim to grow these brands. We will secure entrée in the on-trade which Orchid couldn't do. We're also in a lot of forecourt shops and high street stores which Orchid couldn't enter." Britvic says it is bringing products that work into this category and one is Robinsons' High Juice, pioneer of the tagline Making water taste better'. Britvic claims the Robinsons brand holds a 40% share of the take home squash market and that High Juice is worth just under £12m retail value [MAT to March 2001, ACNielsen]. "This type of product gets a big push from Britvic's sport sponsorship. The pluses are they are refreshing, add value and come in a number of flavours," says Garfitt. "If you aren't a high mineral water user, you find it gets a bit boring and tasteless. High Juice has worked and gets the thumbs up." Old favourites too have been getting a makeover to shake off their dusty image. Rose's lime juice, part of Coca-Cola's repertoire, has recently undergone a complete makeover with new packs and new flavours, which it hopes will grow the brand by 300%. Marketing director Ian Deste says: "A high pecentage of consumers don't have children but when you look at the way the category is marketed its very much child oriented. "We've done a lot of research into the squash category and found that the value has declined and the only growth has been through premium squash such as High Juice. "Rose's has tremendous heritage. We've taken this heritage and its quality and expanded into new flavours ­ zesty orange and cloudy lemon ­ and have developed attractive premium squashes appealing to the adult palate." Merrydown claims its Shloer brand has stormed into 2001 with volume growth up 52.8% year on year. This year the company is putting £6m behind the juice drink. Investment includes a new white grape and elderflower sparkling variant, and new packaging it says is smart and stylish enough to sit comfortably on a dining table as a wine alternative. Merrydown is targeting adults through its support for the National Trust by donating £40,000 from bottle sales over two years, and sponsoring a bluebell garden at Kew Gardens. Both Bottle Green and Belvoir Fruit Farms have revitalised their ranges and invested in new equipment. Bottle Green has given its cordials a new bottle design and new flavours, and hopes to repeat the success its pressés had when it switched to a curvaceous bottle. Then sales soared by more than 20%. Sales manager Ken Knight says: "The presentation, styling and positioning of soft drink brands is as important to adult consumers as it is to the youth market. "Increased shelf stand-out is vital in a niche sector where fixture space is limited. Further npd in this sector must therefore appeal to the eye as well as the palate and offer convenient formats that match adult lifestyles." Belvoir Fruit Farms is rolling out its new range from this month. It includes three new organic lines and a packaging makeover for its entire pressé range to emphasise its 100% natural fruity contents and preservative free status. Belvoir's Peverel Manners says: "There has been a sustained interest in premium soft drinks, particularly carbonated ones. Today's consumers are wealthier and as such can afford the convenience these drinks offer. This is shown by the success of our overall sales last year which were up more than 10% and pressé sales up a staggering 25% despite the poor summer." {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}