Retailers are turning their backs on Coca-Cola's Minute Maid juice brand, despite the company reporting strong sales for the drink.
Sainsbury and Spar have both delisted the one-litre carafes of the not-from-concentrate brand, which comes in a range of flavours, following what they said were disappointing sales.
Robert Neal, trading controller for fresh foods at Spar UK, said that Minute Maid had been delisted on a rolling process region by region during the past quarter. The Midlands is the only region in the country where it is still sold in Spar, although its performance will be looked at as part of a general category review later this year.
"It is no longer listed nationwide because it has not performed well in many regions of the UK," said Neal. "We are disappointed that Minute Maid has not been that successful."
Sainsbury delisted the Minute Maid carafes last month, but the drink will continue to be sold in Asda and Tesco.
Coca-Cola Enterprises insisted that Minute Maid had performed well following its relaunch in the UK last June, and said that it was poised to be worth £30m at the end of its first full year. A spokesman said: "We are delighted with the success of Minute Maid since its launch in Great Britain and the fact that so many of our retailers are very happy with its performance. Globally, the brand has grown by 150% in the past ten years."
Minute Maid has struggled to gain a strong foothold in the UK grocery market since its first outing in the UK in 1998 through a joint venture with Danone. It lasted less than a year and was eventually muscled out by PepsiCo's market-leading Tropicana brand.
The drink is also likely to come under pressure from a resurgent Sunny D, which is being launched in a 100% pure format this summer.
Sainsbury and Spar have both delisted the one-litre carafes of the not-from-concentrate brand, which comes in a range of flavours, following what they said were disappointing sales.
Robert Neal, trading controller for fresh foods at Spar UK, said that Minute Maid had been delisted on a rolling process region by region during the past quarter. The Midlands is the only region in the country where it is still sold in Spar, although its performance will be looked at as part of a general category review later this year.
"It is no longer listed nationwide because it has not performed well in many regions of the UK," said Neal. "We are disappointed that Minute Maid has not been that successful."
Sainsbury delisted the Minute Maid carafes last month, but the drink will continue to be sold in Asda and Tesco.
Coca-Cola Enterprises insisted that Minute Maid had performed well following its relaunch in the UK last June, and said that it was poised to be worth £30m at the end of its first full year. A spokesman said: "We are delighted with the success of Minute Maid since its launch in Great Britain and the fact that so many of our retailers are very happy with its performance. Globally, the brand has grown by 150% in the past ten years."
Minute Maid has struggled to gain a strong foothold in the UK grocery market since its first outing in the UK in 1998 through a joint venture with Danone. It lasted less than a year and was eventually muscled out by PepsiCo's market-leading Tropicana brand.
The drink is also likely to come under pressure from a resurgent Sunny D, which is being launched in a 100% pure format this summer.
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