Lucozade Ribena Suntory could be set to take on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in the iced tea category with the launch of a brand called Infuji.
LRS has registered the name as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office under classes 30, covering tea-based and tea-flavoured drinks, and 32, which includes non-alcoholic drinks, fruit drinks and juices.
Were Infuji to hit the market, it would find itself up against Honest and Fuze, the iced tea brands launched by Coca-Cola in December 2016 and January 2018 respectively, and Lipton’s ready-to-drink variants, which PepsiCo makes with Unilever.
LRS’s debut in iced tea would likely have a low sugar content or no sugar at all, the supplier having committed to removing 50% of the sugar from its drinks portfolio, as part of a “far-reaching health and wellbeing plan”. So far this has seen the reformulation of around 75% of lines – including its flagship, Lucozade Energy.
The Orangina owner was “committed to bringing low-sugar drinks to market as part of a healthier portfolio” said a spokeswoman for the company. “We regularly review our brands and register trademarks to protect them and develop our innovation projects.”
Infuji was “one of a number of routes under consideration” she added.
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