Lambrini rosé launched

Halewood International has made a bid to position Lambrini as an on-trade brand with the launch of a rosé variant.

The brand extension to the "wine-style" product range marks a bid to crack the on-trade with Lambrini, around 95 per cent of which is currently distributed to the off-trade, according to Halewood.

It is the third on-trade-focused product launch from Halewood in 2009, following Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer in February, and Lamb's Spiced Rum in March.

Lambrini Rosé is made using blended Italian grape juice, has an ABV of 5.5 per cent, and is semi sparkling - like Lambrini Original. It comes in a 750ml bottle and an on-trade-exclusive 275ml single-serve bottle.

A £5m marketing campaign behind Lambrini will help target the new product at groups of women in their early 20s.

Halewood International head of innovation Richard Clark said: "We believe there is a real opportunity to capture a significant slice of the fast growing rosé market and at the same time reinforce the brand's positioning as a wine style drink."