Sports drink brand Taut is launching an all-out attack on Lucozade Sport and Powerade with an aggressive marketing campaign and new packaging that will pitch it more effectively against its rivals.
The company is ditching its pouch format and launching into 500ml sports cap bottles later this month for stronger shelf standout and to enable it to move into new channels.
New products will also be added to the drinks range next year.
The company has already secured listings in garage forecourts as a result of the change, which it said would finally give the drink mass market appeal.
Commercial director Gordon Bromley said: "The pouch has been great in reinforcing our point of difference at launch but we are at the stage where we want a much wider audience. It is a push to stand up and be counted. We are starting to roll out across channels that require a PET bottle."
A £1.7m marketing package for 2007, including sampling and press advertising, will reinforce Taut's position as the first 'clean' sports drink.
The company will be highlighting the fact its brand contains no artificial colours, flavours or E numbers and compares it with Lucozade Sport, Powerade and Gatorade, which it claims contain all of these.
The brand will also be attending sports events as part of its Taut100 initiative that spots up and coming sports stars.
The initiative is chaired by Olympic rower Matthew Pinsent who is a shareholder in the company.
Taut was set up two and a half years ago and has grown into a £1.5m brand, but Bromley predicted that it would become at least a £20m brand by 2010.
"Taut is the Tropicana of sports drinks. All the leading players have got something missing that appeals to today's consumers, and that's a health message,"
he added. "There are some very big companies in the market but they are very vulnerable. We are confident that the clean message works. There is a huge opportunity to steal consumers from these brands."
The company is ditching its pouch format and launching into 500ml sports cap bottles later this month for stronger shelf standout and to enable it to move into new channels.
New products will also be added to the drinks range next year.
The company has already secured listings in garage forecourts as a result of the change, which it said would finally give the drink mass market appeal.
Commercial director Gordon Bromley said: "The pouch has been great in reinforcing our point of difference at launch but we are at the stage where we want a much wider audience. It is a push to stand up and be counted. We are starting to roll out across channels that require a PET bottle."
A £1.7m marketing package for 2007, including sampling and press advertising, will reinforce Taut's position as the first 'clean' sports drink.
The company will be highlighting the fact its brand contains no artificial colours, flavours or E numbers and compares it with Lucozade Sport, Powerade and Gatorade, which it claims contain all of these.
The brand will also be attending sports events as part of its Taut100 initiative that spots up and coming sports stars.
The initiative is chaired by Olympic rower Matthew Pinsent who is a shareholder in the company.
Taut was set up two and a half years ago and has grown into a £1.5m brand, but Bromley predicted that it would become at least a £20m brand by 2010.
"Taut is the Tropicana of sports drinks. All the leading players have got something missing that appeals to today's consumers, and that's a health message,"
he added. "There are some very big companies in the market but they are very vulnerable. We are confident that the clean message works. There is a huge opportunity to steal consumers from these brands."
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