Britvic launches 'flawless' cola at Mitchells & Butlers

Britvic has launched Pepsi Xtra Cold, a Britvic-patented dispense system, that provides the perfect balance and consistency of carbonation, syrup mix and temperature to give consumers a flawless cola experience.

Pubs and bars in the UK will be the first to benefit from the new innovation.

The system is expected to be installed at 800 Mitchells & Butlers pubs and 2,000 in total by the end of the year.

Britvic developed Pepsi Xtra Cold in response to consumer research which found that taste and temperature were the most important aspects to customers buying cola in a pub or bar.

The research revealed a need to provide consumers with a more consistent and premium experience of draught cola.

Significant opportunity​

Paul Linthwaite, director of on-premise at Britvic, said: "Soft drinks present a significant profit opportunity for licensees and growth is being driven by premiumisation. ​

"We recognise that consumers visiting a pub or bar are looking for an 'added-value' experience from soft drinks versus when they buy a bottle or can to consume at home.

"We believe that Pepsi Xtra Cold will deliver a more premium and consistent draught cola experience for consumers visiting the licensed trade.

"The introduction of Pepsi Xtra Cold means bar staff will, for the first time, be able to consistently serve a postmix cola or lemonade to packaged quality.

"With cola representing almost half of all soft drink sales, Pepsi Xtra Cold is a significant step-change that will help drive further growth of the cola sub-category in the on-premise channel."

The new four head bag-in-box (BIB) system is mounted on the bar to provide a space efficient font design which also heightens the presence of soft drinks in the on-trade environment.

The syrup and water are cooled and mixed below the bar rather than in the glass as with traditional cola guns, ensuring the drink is served at the right temperature, taste mix and carbonation.

The new system is also easier to clean and maintain than traditional post-mix dispense systems.