Wonky and surplus fruit drinks brand Flawsome has been delisted in Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
Flawsome CMO and co-founder Karina Sudenyte told The Grocer it had lost the listings on the back of a “really tough period of time” for the brand, which fell victim to supply chain disruption and the global aluminium shortage.
“We were in retail just recently, so went into Sainsbury’s and Morrisons with our juice range portfolio but unfortunately we didn’t sustain there. It was a really, really challenging period of time for us,” Sudenyte said.
The brand’s ambient juices were merchandised “quite far away from the consumer-facing spaces” in both retailers and, as a result, it struggled to compete with major players in the category, she said.
Flawsome’s suppliers had also refused to allocate the brand cans for its sparkling drinks, “telling us there is no availability, that there are other priority customers”, she added.
“We tried our best because in this period of time we had a client that actually needed to receive ‘X’ amount of cans on time, and we thought we weren’t going to deliver it on time because we were just not able to get hold of the cans.”
In the months ahead, the brand will shift its focus from retail to strengthening its foothold in the out-of-home sector, said Sudyente.
“Before even diving into retail, you need to definitely think twice and really prepare your commercials. You need to make sure you are able to provide significant investment to make sure you can sustain in the space.”
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said: “We regularly review our ranges to make sure we offer our customers the best possible choice and value.”
The Grocer has approached Morrisons for comment.
The delistings have not stopped the brand launching NPD, however.
Last week, it added an Apple & Strawberry flavour to its Lightly Sparkling drinks range (rsp: £1.50/250ml).
Prior to that, in January, it launched a quartet of juice shots, intended to target specific health concerns (rsp: £2.29/60ml).
Both the new flavour and the shots are set to launch into Ocado later this year. They will also roll into wholesalers, independent cafés, farm shops, convenience stores and restaurants.
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