Extreme turns to alcohol with saké launch

Extreme Drinks, the canned soft drinks company that owns Extreme Sport and Extreme Chillout, is launching its first alcohol product.

Later this month a vodka-saké formulation is being launched in trendy bars, with a roll out to the retail sector expected next spring.

Wokka Saké is to be positioned as an “apres-ski” shot drink and is 39 per cent alcohol by volume. Initially it will only be available in a limited number of bars and packaged in 70cl bottles, but the company is aiming to have litre bottles developed for its introduction to retail.

The company has worked with the Big Group on the packaging design and is now looking for a through-the-line agency to create a marketing campaign, following initial sampling and PR activity.

Wokka Saké carries an origin story on the back bottle label saying it was created when a group of professional snowboarders travelled to Mount Zao in Japan and were introduced to sakee, where, through “free thinking” they blended the two drinks.

Salim Ahmed, international sales director and former head of international marketing and new product development at Drambuie, says that Wokka Saké “is designed for now, we are not talking about provenance, as with malt whisky”.

He adds that the product will be introduced at many of the sporting events organised by sister company the Extreme Sports Channel. Both divisions sit within parent company Extreme Group.