Cash and carry giant Booker will aggressively market its own label premium lager Lynx to ensure independents can match some of the "silly" prices the multiples may throw into the ring. Beer and cider buyer Steve Roper has overseen the new 330ml format of Lynx lager ­ bottled exclusively for Booker at Bavaria's brewery in Holland ­ to tap into the rise in demand for authentic European beers to drink at home. He said: "We're winning the battle on price against the multiple specialists ­ the real pressure is coming from the multiples. "Own label is part of the defence against this competition with our price of £9.99 for 24 bottles of Lynx an all-year round deal. And when the going gets silly we'll drop that to £8.99." Roper added that Booker distributes 2.1 million cases of beer and cider annually, of which half is own label. "We'll be running some deals on branded products as well with new marketing initiatives to drive footfall for our customers to ensure they are on level terms with all the big chains on price." {{DRINKS }}

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