Lucozade is preparing to turn the market blue with the launch of three new drinks later this month.
Lucozade Sport Blue Force, Lucozade Energy Blue Burst and Lucozade Alert Blue Rush will all join the existing Lucozade range from the end of February, uniting the sub-brands together for the first time in a huge change in Lucozade’s marketing strategy.
The launch of Blucozade is the first time that all three Lucozade sub-brands will appear side by side in a single launch, with new drinks across function, flavour and format. The cross-category innovation creates an exciting line up of new drinks across the Lucozade brand, adding a splash of colour to retailers’ chillers and creating real excitement for shoppers, brand owner Suntory Beverage & Food said.
“Blucozade is the biggest Lucozade launch ever, and the feedback we’ve had when bringing this to consumers and retailers alike has been overwhelmingly positive,” Elise Seibold, marketing director at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I commented.
“Uniting our Sport, Energy and Alert brands together for the first time ever is a huge step change in the way we market Lucozade, with even more to come this year. With its three different flavour profiles, we know Blucozade will appeal to different shoppers and have a big contribution to the continued success of the Lucozade brand.”
The launch comes off the back of an incredible year for Lucozade. The sport and energy drinks segments have continued to deliver significant value for retailers this year, acting as a real driver for the soft drinks category. In fact, both sport and energy drinks are growing ahead of the category, currently seeing 80.5 per cent and 16.9 per cent value sales growth respectively [Nielsen].
Within this, Lucozade Alert is experiencing incredible 31.4 per cent YOY growth, and Lucozade Energy and Lucozade Sport are also going from strength to strength, with increases of 6.5 per cent and 17.8 per cent in YOY value sales respectively.
Blucozade taps into a desire from shoppers for excitement and surprise from their soft drink purchases. Shoppers are already purchasing more Lucozade products per trip, with an uplift of 3.3 per cent [Kantar], and 43 per cent of shoppers are more likely to purchase drinks with appealing flavours [Mintel]. The launch of three new flavours alongside its existing range means Lucozade is well positioned to cater to this consumer preference.
Each of the three new drinks in the Blucozade range is uniquely flavoured. The drinks’ names give little away, and it is up to shoppers to discern the flavour of these exciting new products.
Suntory said the introduction of Blucozade presents a key opportunity for retailers to brand block Blucozade, strategically showcasing the NPD and creating an unmissable eye-catching display for shoppers. This move is expected to drive up both purchase frequency and overall consumption within the Lucozade portfolio.
The change will be supported through impactful in-store POS across wholesale and convenience, as well as a shopper-facing campaign through April to drive awareness and create real demand at launch.
