Sprite

Coca-Cola European Partners is mounting a £3.3m rebrand for Sprite alongside a new zero-sugar variant.

The fizzy pop giant has given Sprite a new look bottle and launched Sprite Lemon Lime & Cucumber No Sugar, which rolls out this week.

Sprite’s redesign will see the dimples from existing bottles join the brand’s 2-litre bottle design, amid new visual cues designed to play up its refreshment credentials.

The new flavour, meanwhile, would “help retailers tap consumer demand for light flavoured carbonates that are experiencing strong market growth” said CCEP.

It will be available in 330ml cans, 500ml and 2-litre PET bottles, contains no caffeine or calories, and is exempt from the impending sugar levy.

The launch will be backed by a considerable push encompassing digital and print advertising as well as in-store sampling. CCEP customer marketing director Simon Harrison said CCEP was “confident” the move would “excite our core audience who are always on the lookout for new innovative flavours and experiences”.

Low and no-sugar products have become a critical focus for CCEP as the sugar tax looms ever closer and consumers increasingly opt for healthier options. Its flagship brand posted growth thanks only to the performance of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in 2017 [Nielsen 52 w/e 9 September 2017].

The new Sprite flavour marks the latest in a flurry of releases from CCEP since the start of the year. Harrison previously told The Grocer CCEP wanted to become a “total beverage company”, expanding outside its pop heartlands into as yet untapped segments of the soft drinks market.

It launched low-calorie ice tea brand Fuze Tea earlier this year, followed by dairy alternative smoothie brand AdeZ and Honest Coffee in latte and mocha variants.

AdeZ was initially launched by Unilever in the UK in 2006, but failed to gain traction and was withdrawn two years later. Initially known as AdeS, it was sold to Coke for a hefty $575m in 2016.

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