Weetabix has launched a breakfast drink - and tipped the on-the-go breakfast market to grow to £300m in two years.

Rolling out this week, Weetabix On The Go Breakfast Drink comes in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavours in a 250ml single-serve, resealable bottle (rsp: £1.39).

The ambient drinks, which will be available both in the cereal aisle and chillers, contain skimmed milk, soluble wheat fibre and milk protein. Weetabix said they had been developed specifically for the UK after research found 15 million adults didn’t eat breakfast at home on work days.

Breakfast drinks are already popular in Australia and the US, where Kellogg’s sells a Special K drink. Weetabix predicted they would play an important role in the burgeoning on-the-go breakfast market in the UK, which it forecast would be worth £300m by the end of 2015.

Demand for on-the-go has fuelled rapid growth in breakfast biscuits, which has shot up 78.9% to £76m [IRI 52 w/e 17 August 2013]. Weetabix, which launched its On The Go breakfast biscuits a year ago, said its drinks catered to a different audience.

“Our drink will meet the needs of consumers that demand even more convenience, speed and easier consumption while on the move,” added marketing manager, Francesca Davies.

Breakfast drinks already available in the UK include BeFast, and the Fuel range launched by Fresh Marketing in Tesco and Asda last year.

Fresh Marketing founder Barney Mauleverer said Kantar data had shown 90% of Fuel sales were incremental to the breakfast category.

“The retailers we are stocked in recognise the importance of convenience and the role drinks can play and it won’t be long before the others follow too,” he said.

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