Reggae Reggae drinks “to be worth £10m”

Vimto Soft Drinks is targeting £10m in value sales for its new Levi Roots Reggae Reggae drinks range in the first 18 months.

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Earlier this week Vimto Soft Drinks agreed exclusively to license the Levi Roots brand, which also produces the Reggae Reggae sauce range, for the UK soft drinks category.

It is due to launch a range of Caribbean-inspired carbonates and juices next month.

Neil Gibson, Vimto Soft Drinks head of marketing, says his main focus for the April launch period is to gain “sufficient distribution” so the Levi Roots range is readily available in time for consumer advertising.

The drinks range will be available in Asda and Tesco from 27 March and is to be stocked in the impulse trade, including convenience stores such as Spar, from the first week of April.

Gibson says once the brand hits 50% distribution in the multiples sector and 25% in the impulse market the Vimto Soft Drinks will have the scale to advertise the new brand.

He adds: “I’d be disappointed if I didn’t start advertising by May 2012.”

Advertising will reflect the original Reggae Reggae Sauce’s target market of 16 to 24 year-olds. Marketing activity will focus around digital, cinema and “carefully selected” TV advertising, with media spend based purely on specific programes with already high conversion rates.

Levi Roots found fame after appearing on the BBC’s venture capital programme Dragon’s Den with his original Reggae Reggae jerk barecue sauce product in 2007.

He received a joint £50,000 investment for a 40% stake in his business from “Dragons” Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.

The brand has now extended to frozen products, snacks and cooking sauces. The entire range is estimated to be worth about £30m, according to Gibson.

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