Baileys Glide to enter on-trade market

Baileys Glide ­ " a lighter, longer Baileys experience" ­ is set to add interest to the rising cream liqueur category when it is released in the on-trade on 1 March. Glide, in 200ml bottles at 4% abv, combines the taste of Baileys Original with vanilla. It is aimed at "occasional" Baileys drinkers who want to drink it socially, with a target audience of women aged 25 to 35. Ellie Calver, senior innovation manager for Glide, said: "Baileys has 14m consumers, but about 11m drink it fairly infrequently, during special occasions like Christmas. The aim of Glide is to make the brand more available." Glide was launched in the off-trade last August. But Calver said it proved popular at trials in around 700 Scottish and Newcastle venues between September and January. The launch is bound to cause a stir in the buoyant cream liqueur category, where volume sales grew by 12% between December 2002 and 2003. Baileys remains number one in the category, but the success of Allied Domecq's Tia Lusso means Glide faces a challenge, although the main target for Glide is existing Baileys fans.