Ready to serve drinks for the off-trade

Accolade Wines has a Ready to Serve (RTS) range of four new drinks from the Hardys, Banrock Station and Stone’s brand stables.

The Sparkling Collection includes: Hardys Peach Bellini; Hardys Strawberry Bellini; Banrock Station Infusions Summer Berries, Stone’s Ginger Punch, Echo Falls Spritz Pinot Grigio and Echo Falls Spritz White Zinfandel Rosé.

Having secured significant listings in Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and One Stop, the new RTS cans are set to make a big impact in the off-trade when they hit the shelves this May.  The Stone’s Ginger Punch limited edition union jack-themed can will lead the way into the off-trade, perfectly timed for celebrating Britain this summer.

The pre-mix drink category (within RTDs) is worth £59m in the off trade and is one of the fastest growing sectors, seeing 37% growth compared to last year, and in the on trade, 2.7% of drinks are wine cocktails and spritzers (Nielsen), so Accolade Wines is looking to capitalise on this potential for wine cocktails in the off-trade, and believes the market for wine-based RTS offerings could be one-third the size of the current spirits RTS market.

Accolade Wines will be supporting the launch of The Sparkling Collection in the off-trade sector through print advertising, social media and in-store displays to drive interest and awareness throughout the summer. In addition to this, Stone’s will roll out specific advertising to support the limited edition packaging for Stone’s Ginger Punch and Stone’s Ginger Wine from May.
 
The Sparkling Collection

• Hardys has developed two RTS wine cocktails based on the classic Bellini: the Sparkling White Peach Bellini and the Sparkling Strawberry Bellini, both in 250ml cans at 5.5% abv, with a RRP of £1.85 each. 
• Banrock Infusions is a new RTS from Banrock Station and is a pre-mixed blend of sparkling wine with fresh and natural flavours of summer berries. Banrock Station Infusions will be available at 5.5% abv in a 250ml can at an RRP of £1.85.
• Stone’s Ginger Punch is available in a striking limited edition union jack-themed 250 ml can at 5.4% abv.  The RTS drink is a blend of Stone’s Ginger Wine with lime and lemonade.
• The four new variants build on the launch of Echo Falls Spritz in a can, which occurred in November 2011.  Echo Falls Spritz is a blend of wine and sparkling water, at only 120 calories in a 250ml can and only 4% abv. The Spritz cans, targeted at female ‘newbie’ consumers, are available in two varieties; White Zinfandel Rosé and Pinot Grigio.

1 April 2012 - Felicity Murray