Blue Nun to shed dated image with Slinky launch

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Blue Nun, the iconic wine brand synonymous with naff 1970s parties, is capping a comeback with the launch of a ready-to-drink (RTD) concept.Blue Nun...

Blue Nun, the iconic wine brand synonymous with naff 1970s parties, is capping a comeback with the launch of a ready-to-drink (RTD) concept.

Blue Nun Slinky, described as "a crisp, lightly sparkling white wine crush", is the first major wine brand to make a move into the burgeoning wine-based RTD sector.

The launch of the new concept, available in 275ml crown-cap bottles with an ABV of 5.5 per cent, follows a recent resurgence in sales of the much-maligned wine brand.

Having borne the brunt of the New World wine explosion in the early 1990s, Blue Nun switched from Liebfräumilch to Qualitatswein in 1997 and more recently launched a Blue Nun merlot and a Blue Nun riesling variant.

In the last five years, Blue Nun has successfully ridden the retro wave and the brand claims sales have tripled in the UK with more than 400,000 nine-litre cases sold in 2001 - a 15 per cent rise.

Helmut Seibert, managing director of owner H Sichel Sohne, said: "We've had five years of strong sales growth. In fact in the last 12 months we sold more Blue Nun wine than ever before in the brand's UK history, surpassing for the first time even the sales figures from Blue Nun's hey-day years in the late 1970s.

"We felt this was the right time to extend the brand's product range into the RTD market."

A slowdown in the premium packaged spirit (PPS) sector, partly prompted by a hefty hike in tax last year, has signalled the arrival of a number of wine-based concepts eager to attract the attention of young, female drinkers.

"Slinky is about addressing the lack of innovation in the wine category," said Blue Nun marketing director Armin Wagner.

"The drink aims to attract a younger generation to wine, consumers who currently might only develop an interest in wine much later.

"At the same time Slinky is aiming to offer the RTD consumer a more sophisticated product, which is a market gap our consumer trials have highlighted."

Blue Nun Slinky, available in early summer, will be vying with the likes of Bliss, from Scottish Courage, GBL International's Cavela and leading PPS brands for space in the fridges of UK pubs and bars.

Bacardi-Martini is also poised to enter the market with Coolmira Coast.

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