Dead Man’s Fingers is celebrating Halloween in style this year with the launch of a limited edition UV bottle for its award-winning spiced rum.
The eye-catching bottle boasts the distinctive Dead Man’s Fingers skull logo and spooky Halloween webbing, which is illuminated under UV light. It is available for all channels to order throughout October.
Rachel Adams, marketing director, Halewood Artisanal Spirits comments; “Dead Man’s Fingers bold, unconventional brand personality lends itself perfectly to the Halloween festivities, and we know our audience love celebrating this fun and social time of year, so we couldn’t resist the opportunity to create a really stand out new bottle design to mark the occasion. Featuring our award-winning Spiced Rum, which is continuing to experience rapid growth, we’re confident that this new release will provide retailers and licensees with a fantastic sales opportunity this Autumn”.
To celebrate the launch, Dead Man’s Fingers has also created a series of UV Spiced Rum Halloween serves, which are perfect for the on trade and at home entertaining.
Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced Rum Limited Edition UV bottles are available now, RRP £26.
Voopoo, a prominent name in vaping innovation, has unveiled the VINCI E120, a new addition to its product line designed to deliver high performance in a compact design.
The VINCI E120 features a 4500mAh high-density battery and supports up to 120W output, making it capable of powering up to 10 days of vaping on a single charge. Despite its robust battery, the device remains lightweight - 50 per cent lighter than comparable models. This blend of power and portability aims to cater to users seeking all-day reliability in a compact form.
A standout feature of the VINCI E120 is its 2.4-inch customisable screen. The display offers 18 watch face options, allowing users to personalise the device to suit their style. The screen also simplifies access to settings, creating a user-friendly interface in a vibrant, modern design.
At its core, the VINCI E120 integrates PnP X Atomisation Technology and is compatible with PnP X coils ranging from 0.15 to 1.0 Ω. This system is engineered to deliver consistent flavour, reduce the risk of coil burning, and minimise leakage, ensuring a superior experience with every puff.
Combining the performance of traditional Mod systems with the portability of Pod devices, Voopoo said the VINCI E120 bridges the gap between power and portability.
“Voopoo VINCI E120 unlocks a new level of seamless fusion of cutting-edge technology and user-centric design where safety and effortless convenience are granted,” the company added.
AG Barr’s Rubicon RAW, the fastest-growing energy brand, is inviting retailers to ride the wave to top energy sales with new Rubicon RAW Wave Editions.
Available from February 2025 as a 12-month limited edition range, the two 500ml Big Can drinks will come in two exciting new flavours, Berry & Grape and Peach & Apricot, tapping into the growth in mixed flavours within energy drinks.
Both new flavours performed exceptionally well in consumer research with 85 per cent of shoppers saying they would buy the range.
The launch will be supported by the brand’s biggest ever marketing investment of £1.5 million throughout 2025. Influencer activity, mass sampling and heavyweight social media will see it reach two in three Big Can Energy Drinkers.
Retailers can make use of the brand’s vibrant, eye-catching point of sale material to create in-store theatre and attract shoppers to the fixture and drive their sales.
Rubicon RAW has quickly established itself as a must stock in the energy category. As the fourth biggest big can energy brand on the market, the brand’s sales are 60 per cent incremental to the category, providing wholesalers and retailers with a clear profit opportunity by stocking Rubicon RAW within their energy fixture.
“The energy drinks market remains one of the most profitable for retailers, driving nearly half of all drink-now soft drinks growth,” said Adrian Hipkiss, Head of Energy Brands at AG Barr. We’re proud to be one of the best-performing ranges in energy, recruiting more shoppers than competitor brands and delivering a 75 per cent repeat purchase rate.
“There’s still a huge opportunity for growth, as 60 per cent of shoppers still don’t buy into the energy category and traditional energy drinks aren’t always seen as appealing for new shoppers. Our two new flavours, alongside our core five, offer something truly different as we appeal to a much broader base of consumers with different energy needs. The No.1 reason shoppers choose Rubicon RAW is its 20 per cent real fruit juice content, which together with natural caffeine and B-vitamins provides a big energy hit that’s full of flavour.”
On shelf from 1 February in 500ml x 12 Plain and £1.19 PMP cans
KP Snacks is expanding its McCoy’s range with the launch of a new Hot ’n’ Spicy flavour. Available from the end of January in a £1.25 PMP, the launch delivers a popular punchy flavour in a well-known format to engage consumers and drive sales.
Capitalising on the success of the UK’s number one ridged crisp brand, McCoy’s Hot ’n’ Spicy delivers McCoy’s signature full-on flavour with a perfect blend of spice and seasoning to ignite taste buds and elevate consumers’ snacking experience.
With Spicy being the third-largest flavour partition in CSN and the largest and fastest-growing in the PMP category, the launch debuts in this popular format to meet consumer demand and drive sales. With PMP’s becoming increasingly relevant and giving consumers good value for money, the launch is perfectly positioned to drive impulse purchases for retailers.
“McCoy’s is known for delivering bold, punchy flavours on a distinct ridge cut crisp, and this launch is no exception,” said John McDougall, Brand Manager for McCoy’s at KP Snacks. “Building on the success of spicy flavours and the growing demand for PMPs, this launch marries a popular flavour in a popular format to meet consumer demand and drive retailer sales. The new Hot ’n’ Spicy flavour is guaranteed to become a new consumer favourite."
Worth £188m and growing at 6.4 per cent, McCoy’s Hot ’n’ Spicy expands on McCoy’s popular portfolio of flavourful snacks. The brand was recently named as the NFL’s Savoury Snacks Partner across the UK and Ireland in a three-year deal running until March 2027.
Although coffee has resolutely established itself as the nation’s hot beverage of choice it’s now facing resistance from nostalgic, feelgood favourite Hot Chocolate which provides comfort, homeliness and a joyful swig of happy childhood memories, especially through cold, Winter afternoons and cozy, stay-at-home evenings.
Recognizing the close synergies that exist between coffee and hot chocolate – cravings for single origin offerings, innovation, ethical sourcing, greater indulgence – has led to Norfolk’s artisanal producer of superior, small batch chocolate to launch Mocha Melts; generously proportioned cubes of gooey-centred joy that transform any quality made-at-home coffee into a luxurious mocha.
Available in Salted Caramel, Hazelnut and Double Chocolate, Mocha Melts represents an audacious bid by Gnaw to extend its premium chocolate credentials down the gifting and hot beverage aisles with choc blocks you drop into coffee for a luxurious mid-morning or afternoon pick-me-up.
According to GNAW spokesperson, Mike Navarro, “One of key priorities over the last 12 months has been to tap into chocolate’s unrivalled versatility. By piggybacking off coffee’s everyday appeal, GNAW is providing the perfect means to add a little luxurious twist to one’s Daily Brew.”
As a business taking significant strides to refresh both its brand identity and range within the UK’s bustling independent sweet & confectionery sector, it probably comes as little surprise to learn that early 2025 will see the launch of an enhanced sugar-free sweets range.
After much tweaking and twiddling the resulting healthier living range will include sugar-free sharing bags of such timeless classics as Sherbet Lemons, Chocolate Limes, Rhubarb & Custards, Pear Drops, Blackcurrant Liquorice and Mint Humbugs
This six-strong eclectic offer provides all the sentimental pull one would expect from a nostalgic portfolio of childhood classics but with only a fraction of the guilt, providing more health-conscious sweet fanatics with the perfect low sugar reformulations that support any discerning sweets enthusiast seeking to trim down their sugar consumption, manage diabetes or simply embrace healthier eating habits without short-changing their taste-buds.
According to marketing spokesperson, Andy Valentine. “Stockley’s may be a confectionery business with an enviable 106-year-old reputation, however that doesn’t mean that we’re unreceptive to the latest sweet trends and priorities. Many retailers have been requesting better-for-you sweet alternatives that don’t skimp on taste yet recognise the nation’s changing health goals.”
Stockley’s has been buoyed in recent times by the growing trend for "closer-to-home" classics, which provides a counter-balance to World Cuisine, where proud food and drink enthusiasts are actively seeking out modern twists on old-school favourites from across the UK.