It has already resurrected Kestrel lager this year. Now Brookfield Drinks is to relaunch and develop Diamond cider.
This week, the company acquired the brand - currently limited to 7.5% abv Diamond White - from Magners owner C&C Group, and also announced it was to expand its Kestrel range with a pilsner variant.
“Diamond White made a massive impact on the market when it launched in the 80s, but there has been a 10 to 15-year gap in marketing,” said MD Nigel McNally.
Brookfield will continue to sell Diamond White and, in a strategy previously employed for the brand, will launch variants differentiated by colour and abv. Among the previous Diamond variants were Blush, Red and Black. McNally would not reveal which he planned to launch, but said he hoped to have the first Diamond brand extension on the market early next year.
“The key to extending a brand is making your variant relevant, and not simply a me-too,” he added. “We believe the vision of a set of craft ciders stemming from such an iconic brand as Diamond is an extremely powerful one, particularly for international export markets.”
He added that the business had received a lot of interest from outside the UK for Kestrel, and that he hoped to take the lager into the UK mults this year. Currently available in 5% and 9% abv versions, Kestrel is only stocked in cash & carries at the moment.
Brookfield is setting up a direct sales force to market its products. “We have shown what we can do with Kestrel, and that we are here for the long term,” said McNally.
Brookfield is extending Kestrel this summer with bottled versions of the 5% lager - including a 660ml sharing bottle - and the resurrection of the pilsner. Previously available in 3.2% and 3.7% abv versions, it will now have a 4% abv.
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