Orchid revamps Aqua Libra line

Orchid Drinks is dropping Aqua Libra Dry and replacing it with a new fruit blend of the soft drink to try to increase the brand’s popularity.

The move represents the first shake-up of the £7.5m Aqua Libra brand since Orchid Drinks acquired IDV’s Callithekéoperation last October.

Aqua Libra Dry was launched by Callithekéin 1992, but is achieving less than ten per cent of Aqua Libra’s overall sales, says Orchid Drinks.

It will still be used for export but will no longer be sold in the UK, says marketing director Richard Wise.

The replacement – called Summer Fruits – will go on sale in the next three weeks through outlets including Tesco and Safeway.

The new blend contains grape, peach, raspberry and elderflower.

“An awful lot of people are not keen on the strong melon taste of the original Aqua Libra. If anything, the Dry version is even more of an acquired taste,” says Wise.

He adds that Summer Fruits has a more “mainstream” taste and he expects it to account for 50 per cent of Aqua Libra sales.

The changes are intended to help Aqua Libra compete against impending adult soft drink launches such as Coca-Cola’s Fruitopia and Coca-Cola & Schweppes Beverages’ Schizan and Oasis. Although the rival drinks will be cheaper than Aqua Libra, Wise says there are no plans to alter its £1.99 price tag. “Aqua Libra is not just sugar and water. It is expensive to make,” he says.