Kids’ drink manufacturers have to juggle playground cred and vibrant appeal with nutritional concerns says Sheila Eggleston Playground cred is key to kids’ drinks these days. Sunny Delight was the must have two years ago but a sales slump of 37% indicates that innovative drinks offering colour and convenience ­ plus the backlash about Sunny D’s nutritional values ­ have squeezed some of the zest out of the brand. And new kids are appearing on the block keen to be kids’ favourites. One of these has been Britvic’s Juice Up, a fruit juice and milk drink which is the top performer in ACNielsen’s new product monitor. Initially launched in June to the multiples in 330ml and 1.3 litre packs, it is now also available in 440ml easy grip packs in the impulse sector. But Britvic’s clear strategy was to launch a group of children’s products and it says Robinsons Fruit Shoot with its bright colours and trendy sports cap has been its shining star. Director of category planning Sue Garfitt says the merchandising and display of soft drinks has a long way to go and that as a category it isn’t interesting to shop. But, she adds, Britvic is working on plans to rectify this. Hall & Woodhouse has a two year programme of new product and packaging development. Its new Panda Still Pops roll out this month. Made from natural flavours, they have added vitamin C but no added sugar and the 330ml plastic bottles have a sports cap, hardly the norm for kids drinks. H&W claims that kids’ drinks are worth £2bn, up 13.3%, outperforming the total market which is up just 3.9%. Its Panda Pops brand is worth £30m and it hopes to double this by 2002. H&W is the powerhouse behind Popzone (main picture), a fixture concept for kids’ drinks. It contains Panda Pops, The Simpsons flavoured carbonates and waters and the Panda Still Pops, but it hopes other manufacturer brands will come on board. Following a successful trial in 90 Asda stores, it’s being rolled out to the rest, Woolworths is adopting it and there will be trials in Tesco. Chief executive Peter Greensmith says: “The trial in Asda increased its sales by 43% compared with the same period the previous year. Greensmith claims the Popzone will give a 50% average uplift on sales. Princes Soft Drinks says the back-to-school period is a key driver of kids soft drink sales. Children’s aversion to juice with bits is solved by Princes’ Noddy drinks offering a smooth style product kids prefer. Meanwhile Gerber Foods Soft Drinks, maker of Libby’s Um Bongo, says its £1m environmental campaign Um Jungle Patrol has helped it achieve national recognition, and says the one-shot market has undergone dramatic growth in the last year fuelled by a 31% growth in ambient one-shots. An ad campaign for Ribena in June will help GlaxoSmithKline put the ASA ruling against Ribena ToothKind’s health claims behind it. Coca-Cola has high aspirations for its Capri-Sun kids’ brand. This £48m brand grew volume share by 58% last year. The company is currently phasing in its new look pack and will be running its first-ever on-pouch promotion. In September it will be specifically targeting children with a back-to-school promotion offering straws that change colour. Dilutables is a flat sector with Tate & Lyle’s Sucralose report showing a static market worth almost £900m and accounting for 2.8 million litres. New to the sector is Silver Spring. Better known for its Perfectly Clear still spring water, part of its £7m investment programme is its entrée into the dilutables sector with the launch of a six-strong Veri Fruiti range. Silver Spring claims the supply of dilutables has become a two horse race with Robinsons dominating the branded sector and Princes controlling 85% of the own label market. By seizing this opportunity it says it is offering retailers and buying groups a new supply option. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}