A soft drink that will go head-to-head with Coca-Cola’s Lilt is being launched into the multiples by Pepsi Americas.

Ting is made to a 100% Jamaican recipe using only water, sugar and Jamaican grapefruit juice.

Produced by Cott in the UK, Ting has previously been sold in selected ethnic stores, mainly around the London area.

However, Pepsi Americas now intends to challenge Coca-Cola’s pineapple and grapefruit drink Lilt by launching it into mainstream channels.

Graham Hinton, project co-ordinator for Pepsi Americas, said: “We are looking to turn Ting into a mass-market brand and a major opportunity for European expansion is to use the UK as a test market. The UK has a multicultural population and it offers the best chance of building the brand.”

Hinton said Ting was targeting 16 to 20-year-old urban youths and marketing would focus on its authentic taste. A poster campaign claims seven out of 10 consumers preferred it to the ‘other leading Caribbean brand’.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about how much we would position ourselves against Lilt,” said Hinton. “Realistically it is a real contender. There is no reason why it could not get 3-4% of the fruit crush market over the next two to three years and be a significant brand.”

The drink will be available nationwide in Tesco as well as selected Morrisons and Asda stores in London from Monday. It has also secured listings in Somerfield from September.

Stefan Chomka