Robinsons looks poised to make a surprise move into smoothies.
The squash leader has applied to register the name Robinsons Smoothie Shake as a trademark with the IPO under class 29, covering milkshakes; class 30, accounting for fruit flavourings; and class 32, which includes fruit-based beverages.
Robinsons declined to share details of a potential launch with The Grocer.
A spokesman for the brand said: “There are many reasons why we might file trademark applications, including to protect a particular name or phrase which is associated with a current or potential future proposition.”
It comes after the Britvic brand last month rolled out new pack designs across its range of dilute drinks to “drive relevance with modern families”.
The “simplified” look sought to “reinforce the real fruit, flavour, and refreshment in each bottle”, said Robinsons.
Its move to “modernise” comes after it confirmed it had ended its sponsorship deal with Wimbledon after 86 years last summer.
Lemon Barley Water made its first appearance at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 1935, but the brand said was looking to “broaden our summertime reach to beyond the Wimbledon fortnight”.
However, it appears to be eyeing a move into juices and smoothies at a time of value and volume declines across the category in grocery.
Take category leader Innocent, which is worth £256.5m [NIQ 52 w/e 31 December 2022]. The Coca-Cola brand haemorrhaged £21.5m last year on volumes down 11.9%.
Its closest rival Tropicana, worth £200.4m, also saw double-digit losses in 2022, with value falling £11.4m on units down 11.4%.
PepsiCo, for which Britvic is the UK bottler, sold a majority stake in both Tropicana and Naked to French PE firm PAI Partners for $3.3bn (£2.4bn) in summer 2021.
At the time, PepsiCo CEO and chairman Ramon Laguarta said the deal would “free us to concentrate on our current portfolio of diverse offerings”.
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