A replacement for the defunct Lilt brand could soon hit shelves after Cawston Press teased the launch of its take on the “totally tropical” drink.
Cawston revealed it was working on a Caribbean-style soda in the style of Lilt, which was axed as a brand last week by Coca-Cola and relaunched as Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit.
While Lilt had last year enjoyed a 6.7% uptick in value sales on volumes up 7.5%, it was worth just £15.6m in grocery – a fraction of Fanta’s £281m [NielsenIQ 52 w/e 10 September 2022].
Lilt’s demise after 48 years on the market sparked outrage and dismay on Twitter, with one user criticising Coke’s “worst executive decision”.
In response, Cawston took to Instagram this week to write: “Another favourite brand bites the dust. Lilt has gone the same way as many other nostalgic brands. So, what if we created our own?”
It is currently running an Instagram poll to gauge the UK’s thirst for a variant called Caribbean Crush, made with pineapple and grapefruit à la Lilt.
Cawston is touting Caribbean Crush as a “better” alternative to Lilt due to being “made from pressed fruit” and “real ingredients”, and containing “no added sugars, sweeteners or concentrates”.
“Many will be sad to see the popular tropical soft drink lost,” a Cawston spokeswoman told The Grocer. It was “time to give the people something to smile about”.
“The power is in the people’s hands,” she added. “Watch this space.”
Meanwhile, Aldi has pushed its own grapefruit and pineapple pop, Tropical Blast. The discounter responded last week to Lilt’s demise by tweeting “It’s a good job Tropical Blast isn’t going anywhere then.”
Similar drinks have also been touted by Twitter users, with Levi Roots’ own Caribbean Crush and PepsiCo’s Ting among those earning support. “Lilt is good and this rebrand is boring, but Ting is the superior drink,” Channel 4 producer Amy Elizabeth Hill tweeted.
Ting – distributed in the UK by Primo Water – hit mults in 2005, targeted at 16 to 20-year-old “urban youths”. With marketing focused on its “authentic” taste, an out-of-home push at the time claimed seven out of 10 consumers preferred Ting to the “other leading Caribbean brand”.
Typically found in the world food aisle, Ting ended last year worth £868k in grocery after a 2.7% decline [NielsenIQ].
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