Cobra Beer has outlined ambitious plans for expansion in the UK market, aiming to make the "less gaseous" lager into a top ten beer brand by 2010, The Grocer can reveal.

The company estimates it will need to grow the brand by 60% over the next two years and has already pledged to double sales through the grocery channel in the next 12 months alone.

Increasing distribution through the independent and convenience store channels will also be critical to growth, said newly appointed commercial director Nick Paget.

In the on-trade the company would target mainstream pub and bar chains. "This year is where the Cobra brand really begins to stretch its legs," Paget said. "The message from consumer research is that people love the brand but distribution isn't quite there so the first step is to make it more available."

In addition to gaining new listings the company is investing a record £14m this year in marketing - more than double its budget of two years ago. A new eight-strong trade marketing team has also been created, headed by Coca-Cola's ex-head of category management, Arran Heal, who joined this month.

The company said it had employed a design agency to look at Cobra's packaging across the board, particularly its fruit beer Cobra Bite. "It's an innovative product and people who try it, love it but we need to be sure we are making it clear on the bottle exactly what it is," said Paget.

Further new product development is in the pipeline for the company, though Paget said nothing would be launched until later this year at the earliest. Any new lines would remain in beer rather than extending the brand into other areas of the market, he added.

Cobra's recent purchase of Indian brewery Iceberg Industries is the start of international expansion plans. "We are also looking at dynamic markets such as the US, Russia and Canada," said Paget."

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