Naked smoothies have fallen off the shelves of Waitrose, in the brand’s second such blow in six months.
Naked’s Blue Machine, Green Machine and Rainbow Machine 750ml smoothies have been unavailable in Waitrose since 17 October, according to Assosia data. The products are also no longer available on its website.
It comes shortly after the brand was delisted by Co-op, which agreed a deal with rival brand Innocent earlier this year. According to Assosia data, Naked was last stocked by Co-op on 8 May. It remains listed with Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Ocado.
Waitrose did not give a reason for Naked no longer being available. “We always keep all our ranges under review so we can continue to ensure we’re meeting customer demand, removing duplication and differentiating from others,” a spokeswoman said.
However, it appears to have given space to new brands. New products to have been listed this month include Tropicana’s new range of Kids Smoothies, a duo of new organic kombuchas from Equinox, plus 500ml multi-serve bottles of own-label shots in Ginger and Turmeric variants.
Value sales for Naked have dipped by 10.8% to £61.8m in the past 12 months [NIQ 52 w/e 9 September 2023].
A source at a leading juice brand told The Grocer they believed Naked was “paying the price for inconsistent market pricing” across its range in the past 24 months.
Assosia data shows Naked’s smoothies were being sold at a pre-promotional price of £4.75 prior to their delisting in Waitrose. This was down from £5 in June but up from £4.20 on 17 October 2022.
“The juice and smoothie category for a long period of time has been broken due to high levels of product duplication and a reduction in product quality,” the source added. “This has driven an over-reliance on promotion resulting in low levels of growth.
“It means retailers have been forced to think more boldly about what the category looks like in the future to find sustained growth.”
Naked owner Tropicana Brands Group declined to comment when approached by The Grocer.
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