P&G opens assault on UK soft drinks

Procter & Gamble is on the verge of a multimillion pound assault on the UK soft drinks market and has appointed Mellors Reay & Partners to handle advertising for the fruit- flavoured drink Punica.

Punica Multifruit and Punica Orange were launched in Belgium and Germany last year, supported by a 1m spend through Grey in Dusseldorf.

It is believed a large P&G team is preparing to launch the soft drink nationally this year following test marketing in Carlisle in August 1994 and planned tests in Grimsby.

It will be P&G’s first attempt at selling a soft drink nationally in the UK and face competition from Coca-Cola’s Fruitopia and Quaker’s Snapple.

Grey in the UK handles Smith-Kline Beecham’s Ribena, which would conflict with it taking any fruit drink accounts from P&G.

Punica was test marketed in Carlisle for two weeks, backed by extensive publicity. It came in four flavours – multi-fruit with vitamins; orange with calcium and vitamin C; apple with calcium and vitamin C; and pineapple and grapefruit with vitamin C. It contains 35 per cent fruit juice and has no added sugar or preservatives.