Bar.07 Preview: show highlights
There will be much to feast on at BAR.07 with more than 200 exhibitors offering a range of niche products, stylish innovations, product launches and premium brand promotions to a diverse audience of bar managers, owners and operators.
Innocent Drinks will be making its first ever appearance at an on-trade event in order to promote its smoothies to the premium bar industry.
"Made from 100 per cent pure crushed fruit and natural juices, not only do they offer a healthy, natural refreshment option, but one little bottle also provides consumers with two portions of fruit," enthuses Gareth Jones, who heads the on-trade channel at Innocent. "We are specifically looking at outlets that serve food, where soft drinks have a higher than average share of wet sales and where we feel that there is an opportunity to capitalise on mid-morning, lunchtime and early evening demand. We feel the BAR show provides the ideal opportunity to access these markets."
A number of brands are making their entrance into the UK market for the first time. Bicerin di Gianduiotto, the Italian chocolate liqueur famous for its intoxicating aroma and taste, has been the drink of choice for those in the know in Turin for the past 200 years, and now takes its first steps into the UK. Bulldog London Dry Gin, having successfully marked out its territory in the US, is also set to debut at BAR.
Another new entry is Brasilla Cachaça from Brand of Brothers. Brasilla is sold as Jamel in Brazil, where it is now the third-biggest cachaça behind 51 and Pitu, selling between two million and 3.5 million litres every month. The product has been sold in Brazil for 50 years.
Anheuser-Busch is bringing to the UK Grupo Damm's flagship brand Estrella Damm Barcelona, one of the most popular brands in Spain's premium beer category. Aimed at vibrant, sophisticated men and women, new packaging tailored to the UK market maintains the association with the original beer while showing the modernity of the brand.
Crisp connoisseurs will be pleased to learn about the imminent arrival of Darling Spuds, the wholesome, more cultured younger sister of feisty tearaway Salty Dog, while Kettle Chips, the fastest growing bagged snack brand, celebrates sales up 29.7 per cent, a trend that looks set to continue with the extension of the 40g range. A sample of the Lightly Salted flavour will be available to every show-goer.
Tapio Drinks launches its range of bottled cocktails containing natural ingredients and premium quality St Lucian rum in its bid to fill the gap left by the fading alcopops market.
The big exhibitor story, perhaps, is the tobacco companies, which will be making the most of BAR.07 as one of the last chances they have to actively promote their products on stands before the smoking ban comes into effect in England on July 1.
BAR.07 will be one of the last events to permit smoking inside the venue on exhibitors' stands, and companies such as Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Hunters and Frankau, Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher have already confirmed their participation.
Also attracted by the opportunities offered by a smoking ban, Blueprint Interior Design are offering a design service for the perfect smoking terrace while UK Biometrics, a market leader in the field of biometric security and access systems, will be demonstrating how to keep the smokers out!
For more information on exhibitors, go to www.barshow.co.uk
