Inspired by the brand’s strong track-record as an ingredient in fun cocktails, WKD – the UK’s no.1 RTD1 – is to introduce a range of pre-mixed bottled cocktails specifically for the take home market. Delivering all the taste and excitement but with none of the hassle associated with mix-your-own recipes, WKD COCKTAILS will launch to independents in July.
Presented in striking 700ml fully sleeved sharing bottles and offered in two varieties – Blue Lagoon and Tropical Sunrise – WKD Cocktails will deliver convenient, fuss-free popular cocktails to an 18 to 24-year-old target market. With premium packaging, pre-mixed ingredients and 5.5% ABV, the inventive new products will be available across take home in standard packs, with £4.99 price-marked versions also available exclusively to independents.
Referencing the brand’s success in WKD-inspired cocktails in the on-trade – where some 30% of sales are from cocktail inclusion2 – the vibrant sleeve designs showcase the sharing jugs which have proven so popular with consumers on nights out over the years. The striking, stylised jug graphics will generate strong shelf stand-out and resonate with shoppers. In Blue Lagoon (an alcoholic mix of WKD Blue blended with citrus, berry, and vodka flavours) and Tropical Sunrise (an alcoholic mix of WKD Orange & Passionfruit blended with citrus, strawberry, and vodka flavours), brand owner SHS Drinks has drawn inspiration from cocktail menus and focused on flavours that consumers know and love.
With the RTD category in the take home impulse sector currently growing at +53%3 annually and bottles the fastest-growing format within RTDs (+67% MAT3), WKD is bringing premium, yet accessible, bottled cocktails to a receptive off-trade audience.
With lockdown experiences having generated a 50% increase in the number of on-trade cocktail drinkers seeking mixed drinks or cocktails at home4, SHS Drinks believes that category-leading WKD is perfectly poised to amplify this opportunity for independent retailers.
WKD Cocktails will be available to wholesalers, cash and carries, and independent retailers from July, with a programme of in-depot and in-outlet activity – including display and bespoke activation – set to support the launch.
A high-profile communications campaign will build consumer awareness through social media, influencer activity and extensive PR.
Alison Gray, head of brand – WKD at SHS Drinks, says: “Our new launches bring all the fun and enjoyment of cocktails from the bar into the home; we’ve done all the hard work so consumers don’t have to worry about equipment, recipes or ingredients to mix the perfect drink. We believe that WKD will recruit a different consumer profile to the existing ready-to-serve (RTS*) category and our new cocktails will encourage trading up and deliver increased value to independent retailers and convenience stores.
“Consumers love WKD and consumers love cocktails; to combine the two and bring a flavour of the on-trade to the take home market is a recipe for success for stockists.”
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