Procter & Gamble believes the launch of a low sugar version of Sunny Delight will boost sales by a third and help stave off negative criticism of the brand. It is also shrugging off the possible impact that Britivic's arrival in the sector with Juice Up may have. In an exclusive interview with The Grocer, John Bennett, food and beverages marketing director at P&G, said: "There'll be a halo effect from the low sugar version for the brand in total. I'm not saying that everything negative that's been said about Sunny Delight will suddenly go away. But I think this will be the start of a reappraisal of the brand in total because we are responding to what consumers want." Sunny Delight, currently a £150m brand, has seen its market share slip by 8% over the past year. Bennett said this was partly due to criticism about its sugar content and partly because initial high sales were beginning to level out. He said Light Sunny Delight could account for between a quarter and a third of Sunny D sales, and would boost total sales by 30% in the next year. Commenting on Juice Up, Bennett said: "What a competitor might be doing may be something I might have to get concerned about but not until it's in the marketplace. Right now we have to focus on the low sugar launch." The Light version ­ with 10% fruit juice and a tenth of the sugar content of regular Sunny D ­ will hit shelves by the end of September. A £6m ad campaign ­ part of a £16m spend behind the Sunny Delight brand this year ­ breaks on October 1. Future plans include screw caps on the 500ml and 200ml bottles early next year. Longer term, it may introduce an added calcium variant to the UK ­ this is already on sale in the US. And in the Philippines it is testing Nutra Delight, a variant with vitamins, iron and calcium. P&G has launched a web site (www.sunnyd.com) and is testing interactive TV initiatives. It plans to have an interactive teens game on a digital platform over the summer. - See Marketing p53 {{NEWS }}

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