Britvic adds J2O flavour

Britvic is to launch a limited edition flavour to its J2O range as it looks to maximise sales in the run-up to Christmas.

Orange & Pomegranate flavour will be available in pubs and bars for six months from October onwards. The launch will be supported by extensive POS, promotional programmes and PR to drive sales and profit for licensees.

Since 1998, J2O has been driving growth in the adult premium soft drinks category by introducing exotic and emerging fruits to the mainstream and attracting new drinkers, explained Andrew Marsden, marketing director at Britvic.

"J2O is now found in more than three in four pubs or clubs in the UK and is continuing to deliver incremental growth for the category," he said.

"We believe that new J2O Orange & Pomegranate gives us an opportunity to drive this growth further.

"The success of our limited edition J2O Apple & Raspberry in 2005 demonstrates that new flavours generate excitement and broaden the appeal of the brand, driving sales for our licensee partners.

"Following its launch, 70 per cent of J2O Apple & Raspberry's value was incremental to the category and 52 per cent came from people adding Apple & Raspberry to their J2O repertoire. We expect to see similar success with J2O Orange & Pomegranate," he added.

J2O is now worth more than £166m to the on-premise market, selling seven bottles every second, according to AC Nielsen statistics. Added to this, Britvic has also announced that J2O Orange & Passionfruit, which had been in limited supply recently, is now back in full supply.