SunnyD considers UK iced tea drink launch

SunnyD is considering launching a new iced-tea drink in the UK targeting both teenagers and adults. The product – SunnyD Fruit & Tea – is already being rolled out in France and Spain.

SunnyD is considering launching a new iced-tea drink in the UK targeting both teenagers and adults. The product – SunnyD Fruit & Tea – is already being rolled out in France and Spain.

The US-arm of the Sunny Delight Beverages Company (SDBC), which owns the SunnyD brand, is also looking at the launch of coffee- and tea-based drinks, and has registered the SunnyT trademark.

SDBC commercial director Paul Nicholls does not rule out launching an iced tea drink in the UK, but he will not confirm if it will use the SunnyT name here.

He says: “We would consider it here in the UK as a product for older children, teenagers and possibly even adults, but I know the market very well and it’s not easy to break – it may be easier to come at it from the angle of a recognised soft drinks brand.”

He adds that a tea-based drink will not be included in the first wave of planned innovation. The SDBC has already announced that it plans to launch a new fruit smoothie in a squeezable pouch for the children’s lunchbox market.

The company has already overhauled the formula of its original fruit drink to reduce the sugar content.