Heineken UK is axing its White Lightning cider brand to help improve its stance on responsible drinking.
The cider will be removed from shelves from 31 March, 2010.
“As pioneers in the cider category we want to lead from the front,” said Mark Gerken, sales managing director for off trade at Heineken UK.
"Premium and mainstream ciders continue to drive the overall growth of the category and our future investment will focus on our brands in these categories to respond to consumer demand and continue to drive value.”
Gerken added that despite the company's efforts to invest and premiumise the white cider category, "it continued to attract negative headlines and is still associated with a park-bench mentality”.
The move follows Heineken UK’s decision in March to reduce the amount of alcohol in the drink from 7.5% abv to 5.5% in a bid to gain the initiative on excessive drinking.
Read more
White Lightning abv slashed by S&N (17 March 2009)
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