Brothers Cider is significantly increasing its range with an additional two permanent flavours adding to the existing three core variants.
The family owned Somerset brand is building on momentum achieved through its 2024 relaunch with the addition of all-new Pineapple & Passionfruit flavour, and the much-requested return of one of Brothers Cider’s most-popular-ever flavours: Toffee Apple.
The new Pineapple & Passionfruit variant draws on the brand’s heritage of bringing interesting and innovative flavour combinations to the category and adds a refreshingly tropical angle to the range, while the introduction of newly reformulated Toffee Apple marks the return of a true consumer favourite and a flavour which is unique to Brothers Cider.
Brothers was the brand responsible for the UK’s first-ever flavoured cider and has remained at the forefront of category flavour development ever since. The two new lines phase-in at the end of spring, just as Brothers Cider prepares to celebrate 30 years since it debuted at Glastonbury Festival – which takes place at Worthy Farm, three miles from the company’s cider mill in Shepton Mallet – and the brand is again this year the Official Cider of the world-renowned music extravaganza.
The two new variants will be available in 500ml can format only. The two range additions are both 3.4 per ABV, aligning with the brand strategy of offering sessionable, easy-drinking flavoured ciders.
The major 2024 relaunch – which incorporated new packaging, new formulations, new TV advertising, greater focus on the use of only natural fruit flavours, and increased emphasis on the brand’s long-standing association with festivals – landed well and has proven to bring younger consumers into both the fruit cider segment and the wider cider category. Brand-owner Brothers Drinks Co. believes that the timely return of Toffee Apple and the launch of Pineapple & Passionfruit will both drive further brand penetration and benefit the wider category.
“All-new Pineapple & Passionfruit brings a tropical, summery flavour to our range while fan-favourite Toffee Apple was a great year-round seller which really came into its own in the autumn/Halloween period," said Emma Vanderplank, marketing controller, Brothers Drinks Company.
‘Back-by-popular-demand’ is an oft-overused term in marketing circles but, in the case of Toffee Apple, it is wholly apt: it has been impossible to ignore the volume of consumer enquiries about this much-loved variant.
“It’s great to say ‘welcome back’ to Toffee Apple with a new livery and an enhanced formulation. It was a tricky decision not to include it in last year’s relaunch but we’re really pleased to have now found a way to align the product to the rest of the range, using only real, natural flavours.”
