Britvic plans Fruit Shoot flavoured water launch

Britvic is extending its Robinsons Fruit Shoot children’s drink brand to include fruit-flavoured water in April. The launch will be backed by a &£3m marketing spend.

The clear fruit-flavoured water, called Robinsons Fruit Shoot H2O, is a response to demand from mothers for more water drinks for their children, says category director Andrew Marsden.

Robinsons Fruit Shoot, launched in 2000, has become the number one children’s drink, with retail sales of &£72m a year. It is still recording double-digit sales growth (AC Nielsen).

The water will be available in three flavours, blackcurrant, orange and apple, and will be sold in 300ml bottles with a sports cap. H2O will also be sugar-free with no added flavours or preservatives. Marsden says: “Mothers want their children to drink more water but that isn’t credible with young children, who find water on its own tasteless. Hopefully, Robinsons Fruit Shoot H2O will be popular and credible with both mothers and children, using natural fruit flavours and the strong Robinsons Fruit Shoot branding.”

The marketing campaign, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, will run between April and September next year using television and national press, with space bought by MindShare.

Britvic, which recently announced its intention to float on the stock market, is also launching two bottled waters – Drench (MW September 29) and Pennine Spring – in the new year. Drench will target 16- to 25-year-olds, while Pennine Spring, purchased as part of the Ben Shaw’s acquisition in November 2004, will be available as sparkling and still water, and as still water flavoured with strawberry, lemon & lime or orange & peach.