Amber Beverage Group (ABG) is to preview its first Mezcal spirit in the Rooster Rojo range. Described as ‘the real soul of Mexico’, the new ultra-premium spirit will be unveiled at ProWein giving delegates the first opportunity to view and to sample this extraordinary new drink. The new product will be available in Europe from the early Summer and so ProWein provides an opportunity for delegates to be the first to taste this Mezcal.
Agave spirits are on a significant upward trajectory and Mezcal will take the Rooster Rojo brand to a new level, offering customers a high-end product which will appeal to tequila and Mezcal aficionados and those consumers exploring this category for the first time. Mezcal offers both the on- and off-trade an expanded opportunity to sell agave spirits as Mezcal is more premium than tequila, more artisanal, and as supply for it is limited, margins are strong.
Mantas Zlatkus, Global Brand Director for Rooster Rojo Tequila, said “The project has been in progress for a long time already due to its complexity as Mezcal is subject to different regulations through different government controlling bodies in Mexico. The idea to extend the Rooster Rojo Tequila range with Mezcal has been a long-held ambition as it is a natural fit portraying the core of our brand character. I would describe it as bolder than tequila. The biggest international drinks fair is the best place to announce this important event for our brand.”
ProWein delegates will benefit from being able to meet senior ABG executives including the CEO, Jekaterina Stuge, the CMO Pepijn Janssens, and Mantas Zlatkus, and so the show provides an ideal opportunity to hold discussions with the team who have pioneered this exciting new launch. ABG will also be showcasing most of its other core brands. The stand will show the whole Rooster Rojo Tequila collection as well as KAH Tequilas, Moskovskaya Vodka, Riga Black Balsam products, Cross Keys Gin, and the Cosmopolitan Diva range.
Rooster Rojo Mezcal is a pure, traditionally hand-crafted Mezcal from Oaxaca. This authentic Mexican drink is created in the small craft distillery of Lopes Sosa Palenque in Oaxaca, Mexico with which ABG is partnering for this venture.
Mantas Zlatkus added: “This is a traditional product with a modern take and amplifies all the best features of a Mezcal. We believe we managed to create something unique, as with our tequilas. Our aim was to maximise flavour whilst at the same time creating a spirit that is as smooth as possible. We wanted to add more character to the drink to make it noble and serious, but without sacrificing the smoothness of the product, so the structure was achieved by increasing the ABV to 43% which gives our Mezcal that traditional ‘kick’ that Mezcal lovers expect.”
Mezcal is a precious liquid and nearly all Mezcals are hand-crafted using the traditional tahona wheel and manual work. The liquid is made using underground ovens to cook the agaves which have been cultivated for seven years. Copper pot stills, sealed with local clay, are used for the distillation of this precious artisanal liquid whilst open wooden vats, covered with agave fibres, are used for fermentation.
Each bottle of Rooster Rojo Mezcal is signed by the Maestro mezcalero (the master Mezcal maker) Rodolfo Lopez Juan, authenticating the product to assure people that the correct production processes have been followed. The methods are passed down from generation to generation and the Master distiller learnt his craft from his father who founded this distillery.
The dark, traditional clay bottle prevents the liquid being affected by direct sunlight and is said to ensure, following a traditional local belief, that the Mezcal must not be visible to the ‘bad eye’ before being consumed.
In Mexican culture, Mezcal is a valued and rare drink kept to mark special occasions. It is considered to be a gift from the sun, as the energy which was captured by the agave plants over many years is released in a pure liquid expression. It must not be consumed in a rush, but with respect ensuring that people enjoy every sip of it, understanding how much work and know-how go into its production.
Once available, Rooster Rojo Mezcal will be sold in 75cl bottles in the USA and 70cl bottles in the rest of the world. Initially, it will be distributed in the Baltics, the UK, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia, and the USA.
The perfect serve for Rooster Rojo Mezcal is neat, at room temperature from an authentic Mexican mezcal shot glass. This spirit can also be enjoyed in classic Mezcal cocktails.
It will be priced at approximately £50 per bottle.
“If consumers realised how much work and effort goes into delivering a bottle of Mezcal to your table, they would appreciate every drop of this precious liquid even more. It is not only about the liquid production itself with tiny production batches, manual work and special terroir, but the long years of cultivating the Agave plants in the burning sun of Oaxacan mountains, a remote and harsh location, and deliveries requiring an armed escort.
"Rooster Rojo Mezcal is the real thing, the real soul of Mexico, the gift from the Mexican people to the rest of the world," Mantas Zlatkus concluded.
Leading confectionery wholesaler Hancocks has launched a new brand, showcasing the best of pick and mix.
Pick n Mix Station is a new range of bulk bags containing different mixes of customers' favourite pick and mix treats, offering great value for retailers and their customers.
The range is retailed at £9.99 for a 1 kg bulk bag filled with pick and mix based on different themes, including a selection of fizzy, gummy, jelly, chocolate and foam sweets.
The bags are perfect for parties and special occasions, creating sweetie jars at home and topping up pick and mix stands in stores.
The Pick n Mix Station Space Bag is a mix of white chocolate stars, peach rings, stars and space-shaped gummy sweets.
The Blue Mix Bag contains a variety of blue-coloured tongue painters, raspberry liquorice slices, blue raspberry slices and bubblegum mushrooms, whereas the Red Mix Bag contains fizzy watermelon slices, giant strawberries, gummy teeth and strawberry kisses.
Chocolate lovers will enjoy the Choco Mix Bag which includes a mix of milk, white and strawberry chocolate flavour candy with candy topping.
The Scary Mix is perfect for young sweet lovers and theme parties, packed full of spooktacular sour fruit flavour jelly sweets, including skulls, worms, teeth and fangs.
Other mixes include the Fizzy Mix filled with fruit and cola flavour sour sweets, the Bottle Mix including popular bottle-shaped sweets and the Jelly Mix packed with fruity jelly and foam sweets.
“We’re very excited to reveal our new Pick n Mix Station brand to our retail customers,” Kathryn Hague, head of Marketing at Hancocks, said.
“The brand was created to fulfil a value proposition that celebrates our vast range of bulk confectionery.
“The 1 kg value pick and mix bulk bags are perfect for topping up pick-and-mix stations, adding sweets to party snack tables, or filling jars and tins with irresistible treats.
“With bulk bags trending on Tiktok, retailers can also sell these treats by the bag.
“Stocking up on the Pick n Mix Station bags will give retailers an opportunity to offer customers their favourite pick and mix treats at a low price point.”
Confectionery distributor World of Sweets has revealed the latest novelty product from America’s leading sour candy brand Warheads.
The new offering is part of their plans to bring more of America’s much-loved sour flavours to UK customers.
New to the Warheads range are the Sour Popping Candy packs, available in Sour Watermelon, Sour Green Apple and Sour Raspberry.
Warheads Sour Popping Candy offers a crackling, popping sensation with a sour twist, aimed at younger customers seeking exciting new novelty products with tasty, trending flavours.
Each single flavour display contains 12 pouches, all packaged in an eye-catching design to pop out on shelves among other tasty treats.
Warheads have also launched a three pack - with all flavours included in each pouch.
Each three pack box available to retailers contains 20 pouches, and World of Sweets said the eye-catching display makes them perfect to be stacked on shelves among other tasty treats.
They can be merchandised alongside other Warheads branded lines, or as a part of a wider novelty collection.
The small pouches come at pocket-money friendly prices, making them a great impulse purchase.
“We are super excited to be bringing to market the brand new Warhead Sour Popping Candy pouches,” Louisa Jones, senior brand manager at World of Sweets said.
“Each pouch packs a serious punch, and sour candy lovers are sure to love the exciting, tasty flavours.
“Warheads have been a best-selling brand for us. Our customers have experienced a real boost in sales for both American confectionery and sour flavours, so this product is sure to be a hit with confectionery lovers.
“We’re always looking for ways to support our customers and fill those gaps in the market - and budget-friendly American confectionery lines are definitely needed.”
Warheads also offer a range of products in the top selling theatre box format.
Carlsberg have revealed their new, limited edition Christmas jumpers – in a Home knit and Away knit.
This social-first campaign puts a twist on the traditional football kit launch with a world-first ‘knit launch’ as the country gears up for Christmas. These special jumpers feature the iconic Carlsberg logo and hop leaf as the ‘club badge’ for a fabulous celebration of the brand’s strong links to football, as well as of all things festive.
Bringing the jumpers to life, a series of social videos sees models showcase the jumpers whilst sprinkling in a few recognisable footballer celebrations. Fans will have a chance to win one of these rare Christmas jumpers through an online competition on the brand’s social media channels.
The kit comes in two distinct variations: a green Carlsberg Danish Pilsner ‘Home’ kit, featuring the number 12 for the 12 days of Christmas, as well as a blue ‘Away’ kit for those who are celebrating Christmas away from home, with 00 on the back encouraging drivers to choose the alcohol-free Carlsberg 0.0.
“We had an amazing response from our followers to a mock-up Carlsberg Christmas jumper that we shared last year, and this year we wanted to give our fans an early Christmas gift by launching the real thing,” Sam Johnson, head of marketing, said.
“Carlsberg has such a strong association with football, and we wanted to celebrate this with these fantastic Christmas jumpers, whilst keeping the sense of humour the brand is renowned for. With a ‘knit launch’ in the colours of our classic Carlsberg Danish Pilsner and for our alcohol-free Carlsberg 0.0, we’re making sure everyone can be involved and enjoy the festive season responsibly.”
As part of the campaign, the brand is raising awareness of the Drinking Check from Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company’s responsible drinking charity partner, Drinkaware, with a social story encouraging fans to take the Check for a Christmas that is both ‘noughty’ and nice.
Boost Drinks has announced the exciting introduction of 500ml cans to its Energy range launching in Original, Sugar Free Original and Red Berry varieties at just £1.
Leveraging its standing as the third largest brand in Energy Stimulation, Boost expands on its hugely successful 250ml energy range with the new, larger 500ml cans. 500ml is the largest energy drinks size and is worth a huge £745m - enjoying 13 per cent YoY growth, offering even bigger profits for retailers.
The three varieties available in new 500ml cans have been carefully selected, with sales data places them as the best selling in Boost’s 250ml Energy range.
Boost Original Energy is rated first for taste among Original competitor products, and Original flavours remain strong in the category with a 28 per cent year on year growth. With flavours representing 32 per cent of Energy Stimulation sales, marking a substantial +28 per cent growth YoY, Red Berry is a guaranteed hit with consumers in the new larger can. Plus, the sugar-free energy drinks category has seen a remarkable +23 per cent YoY increase, and the new 500ml Sugar Free Original can caters for the growing trend in health-conscious consumers, with one in three now opting for more sugar-free beverages.
Adrian Hipkiss, Commercial Director at Boost Drinks says: “It is a very exciting moment for us to be expanding on our hugely successful 250ml energy range with a new 500ml offering. We’ve identified the trend in consumer demand for larger, on-the-go formats with 500ml showing huge growth in the sector, so to be able to launch our iconic Original flavour, also in Sugar Free, alongside the flavour-favourite Red Berry is not just huge for consumers looking for a bigger can on the go, but also for retailers who can now enjoy XL profits. We’re forever committed to innovation and excellence within the soft drinks category and are excited to see the new cans roll out across wholesale and convenience.”
These new products underscore Boost's continual dedication to offer retailers the opportunity to communicate great value on fixture vs. the major multiples, in line with its Honest Broker approach that underpins Boost’s commitment to being a transparent and collaborative partner to wholesalers and retailers.
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Smirnoff announces new global partnership with Troye Sivan
Leading vodka brand Smirnoff has announced the appointment of Grammy-nominated global star Troye Sivan as its new Chief Vibes OFFicer (CVO), marking the start of a new multi-year partnership with the Australian singer-songwriter.
One of the most celebrated artists in popular culture today, Sivan has just completed the much anticipated ‘Sweat’ tour alongside friend, artist and frequent collaborator Charli XCX, and is about to embark on the Australia and New Zealand leg of his global solo tour, following the release of his hit 2023 album, ‘Something to Give Each Other’.
Amidst this busy schedule, Sivan will now step into his tongue-in-cheek CVO role as global ‘curator of immaculate vibes’ for Smirnoff – showcasing the Go OFF spirit to fans all around the world. The campaign is a call to arms to ditch to-do lists and dive into some fun - getting together, going out and going OFF. As the next stage of the brand’s wider WE DO WE campaign, it aims to create a more connected, open and exhilarating world.
“We are so excited to partner with Troye - as someone who radiates joy and shares our ‘WE DO WE’ spirit he is the ultimate vibe shifter for his fans all around the world,” Stephanie Jacoby, SVP Global Vodkas at Diageo, said.
“We knew from the moment we first spoke to Troye and his team that this was going to be something truly special – we share a passion for fun, for bringing people together and for not taking ourselves too seriously.
“I am delighted to welcome our new Chief Vibes OFFicer to the team, Troye is the perfect fit, and we can’t wait to collaborate over the coming months together – exciting things to come!”
The partnership launched this week across socials, after a series of teaser drops, with a video showing Sivan taking part in a tongue-in-cheek press conference, announcing his new CVO position to interviewers and sharing his mission, for people to Go OFF.
In true Smirnoff style, a collective of global creatives was brought together to craft the latest Go OFF work and bring a pop-world spin to the vibrant Smirnoff brand world.
Sivan said: “For me, Smirnoff has always been omnipresent – whether it’s at house parties, backstage at shows, or nights out with friends. I see the brand all around the world, and whenever I do, it feels like something I want to be part of. "Go OFF” is all about getting people together and being ourselves, something I’ve really embraced in this part of my life and something I’m excited to continue to do with this partnership.”
The launch will be followed by Smirnoff’s sponsorship of Sivan’s Australia and New Zealand tour where he will share the Go OFF vibes with fans at exclusive after parties in both Sydney and Melbourne.
The global partnership will show up across social, OOH, digital, in-store and through event activations in over 20 countries including the UK, Brazil, Australia and India over the coming months and forms part of Diageo's wider focus on embedding their brands at the heart of key cultural moments for consumers - from music and fashion to sports, food and more.