Mangotree wins South African cider business

Distell, the South African drinks company, has appointed Mangotree Marketing to create the first UK advertising for its Savanna premium cider brand.

A cinema campaign is set to break before Christmas, using a localised version of the brand’s current South African advertising strategy, which uses the strapline “Dry but you can drink it” and relies on quirky humour.

The campaign will also focus on the fact that in South Africa the cider is drunk straight from the bottle with a wedge of lemon in the top, rather than in a glass over ice, as with brands such as Irish cider Magners.

Savanna was originally introduced in the UK about five years ago for the expatriate South African community. However, with the rebirth of interest in cider – driven in part by the success of Magners – Distell and UK distributors Babco have decided to increase their marketing efforts. The drink has been made available in 440 Tesco stores across the UK, and is also sold in Nando’s restaurants and Threshers retail outlets.

Savanna is the leading brand in the flavoured alcoholic beverage sector in South Africa, with an annual growth of 60%. It also has strong sales in Italy and Germany, and sells on a limited scale in the US and Ireland.

Distell is best known in the UK for Amarula Cream liqueur, made from wild plums. The company owns a portfolio of wine, spirit, liqueur and cider brands.