Who: AG Barr
What: Le Joli Sparkling Mexican Lime & Mint
Where: Carbonated soft drinks
How much: £1/330ml
Why: Supermarket shoppers took home an extra 33.5 million litres of flavoured water last year, pushing value sales of still and sparkling up 11.1% and 11.9% respectively to a total of £211.9m [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 5 November 2017]. This demand has sparked the rise of seltzer water, which began in the US with smash hit La Croix and continued in the UK with the likes of La Vie and Ugly. AG Barr’s version arrived in April.
Consumer verdict: Northerners were most excited about the prospect of this sparkling drink with natural flavouring and no sugar or sweeteners - and it was people in the south who were most disappointed after testing. While a few of our shoppers said the seltzer was “refreshing” with a “light texture” and “ideal as a mixer”, the majority disliked the flavour. It “tasted like mouthwash”, said some. The “very expensive” price was also a sticking point for most consumers, who scored Le Joli below the category norm on all key measures.
Pre-trial purchase: 30%
Post-trial purchase: 26%
Better than what’s out there: 24%
New and different: 59%
Overall score: 22/50
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