Allied invests £1m in sherry

Allied Domecq has added weight to talk of a sherry revival with a £1m investment in its leading Harveys brand.

The spirits giant is looking to revitalise the market's leading sherry range with the relaunch of Harveys Pale Cream Sherry and Harveys Amontillado Sherry, formerly known as Harveys Club Classic.

In an attempt to move away from the drink's dusty drinks cabinet and snifter cliché, ADUK has given the parent brand, Harveys Bristol Cream, a new look and introduced colour coding across the range.

Harveys Bristol Cream will remain in its Bristol Blue glass while Harveys Pale Cream Sherry will be in green and Harveys Amontillado in amber.

Rosie Kent, senior brand manager for Harveys, said the decision to introduce the Amontillado category name was made because Club Classic confused drinkers.

"We are investing over £1m behind this relaunch, following extensive consumer research which shows that despite the renewed media interest and vigour surrounding the category in the UK, consumers do not yet fully engage with or understand sherry. The different styles within the category are baffling to many of the UK's six million sherry drinkers," she said.

"It is clear that brand leader Harveys is best placed to take the sherry revival to the next stage and drive category growth."

Talk of a sherry renaissance has become an annual occurrence and is often put forward as the "new chardonnay".

However, despite a high-profile generic PR campaign and an initiative led by Tio Pepe that encouraged sherry and food matching, sherry in pubs still has a low profile, especially in light of wine's increasingly important role in the on-trade.

"Drinkers are becoming more experimental and publicans who are sceptical about the role sherry could play should try and talk to their customers," added Ms Kent.

"Licensees need to serve it chilled over ice and ensure they don't leave it open for 20 days."

To coincide with the relaunch, Allied Domecq is also set to embark on an on-trade promotion to encourage and arm staff with the information and passion to talk more knowledgeably to drinkers about the different styles of sherry.

A three-month partnership with Country Living magazine is also planned.