Skinny Prosecco launches in the UK

Amanda Thomson, the entrepreneur behind Skinny Champagne, has launched Thomson & Scott Skinny Prosecco, and with 67 calories per 100ml glass, it has less than half the sugar content than a traditional glass of Prosecco. It is also the first Prosecco bottle to include a calorie count on the label, which it hopes other major labels will adopt to give consumers a clearer understanding of what it is they’re drinking.

The UK prosecco market was valued last year to be worth more than £330 million, up 72% on the previous year and growing as British drinkers fall more and more in love with the sparkling Italian wine. But currently prosecco remains a wholly unbranded territory. This will be the first Prosecco to break this trend with low sugar content, contemporary branding and an organic, vegan friendly product.

Prosecco sales are at an all-time high with predictions that the global sparkling wine market will continue to increase by 7.4% in volume one the next five years. According to Vinexpo figures, the global consumption of sparkling wine grew in 2014 by 11.5% compared to 2013, with Prosecco growing more than 52% globally within this category.

“We’re all obsessed with the new war on sugar,” says Thomson. “I was raised on a sugar free diet by my mother and now 40 years later, it’s finally being recognised as the way forward for many like me who want to avoid the deadly granules! With Prosecco now dominating the market, Skinny Prosecco will be a brand that I’m confident that everyone will look for on the shelves and on their wine lists this year.”

Thomson’s first product -Thomson & Scott Skinny Champagne Grand Cru -a no sugar Champagne from celebrated producer Alexandré Penet - was the first to obtain approval from the French Champagne Association the CIVC to call itself “Skinny.”

Amanda Thomson gave up her job as a TV and radio broadcaster and moved to Paris in 2010 to study at the Le Cordon Bleu School, obtaining a Diploma in Wine. She wanted to bring a fresh, new and vibrant approach to wine drinking in the UK, casting aside the often-stuffy image of fine wine and Champagne. She single-handedly raised investment to launch the company and is now looking to build on her initial success by widening her portfolio of top quality no and low sugar sparkling wines of which Thomson & Scott Skinny Prosecco is the latest. 

5 April 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor