buying & supplying drinks
40 | The Grocer | 13 January 2018 Get the full story at thegrocer.co.uk
acid test
Nature Valley Nut Butter
Biscuits – Peanut
Who: General Mills
What: Nature Valley Nut Butter Biscuits – Peanut
Where: Sweet biscuits
How much: £2.89/4x38gWhy: Nature Valley enjoyed a spectacular 2017.
The brand increased its value sales by 12.8% to
£44.6m [Nielsen 52 w/e 9 September 2017], mak-
ing it the leader in the cereal bar category by some
considerable distance. In August, it unveiled the
Nut Butter Biscuits duo, claiming it was “the rst
cereal bar with a lling made with real nut but-
ter”. This variant is joined by an almond option.Consumer verdict: Many of our shoppers thought
this a novel o er and praised the “bright, cheer-
ful” packaging. The product itself was polarising
across a number of demographics: Northerners
were more engaged than Midlanders, the prod-
uct was most popular with consumers in the C2DE
demographic, and young adults enjoyed it more
than over-35s. There was praise for the “lovely
peanut avour” and “generous lling”, while crit-
icism included “not a lot of peanut avour” and
“not very healthy”. In spite of maximum points
for innovation, the biscuits’ overall score was two
points below the category norm.Pre-trial purchase: 47%Post-trial purchase: 63%Better than what’s out there: 64%New and di erent: 80%39/50
Overall scoreFast Foodfax has been undertaking consumer assessments of
new products for more than 30 years, comparing the results
against a database of more than 20,000 products across 130-
plus categories of food and drink. Objective, impartial and totally
independent, it is prepared by Cambridge Market Research Ltd.
Tel: 01223 492050 Visit http://www.cambridgemr.comFor the full Fast Foodfax report on this product
visit: thegrocer.co.uk/acidtestDaniel Woolfson
Molson Coors will plough
upwards of £5m into
Aspall Cyder’s facilities
following its long-antic-
ipated acquisition of the
Su olk brand this week.
The brewery would ini-
tially focus on growing
Aspall’s presence in the
on and o -trade, mak-
ing the multimillion-
pound investment into
its existing facility and
taking on extra sta to
boost production capac-
ity, said Molson Coors
UK & Ireland MD Phil
Whitehead.
“Where Molson Coors
can help add value is to
the site and to leverage
the scale that we have,
the same way as we’ve
done with Sharp’s,”
Whitehead said.
Molson Coors plans
major investment in
Aspall Cyder capacity
There was also sig-
ni cant scope to grow
Aspall’s exports, which
currently account for
only 3% of its business,
Whitehead added. “We
do see opportunities for
Aspall to be the number
one premium English
cider globa l ly.”
Aspall reported this
week that sales surged
by £7. 4m to £34m for
the year ending 1 April2017, though operating
pro ts fell into the red
by £187k due to “greater
than expected” costs
arising from its search for
investment.
Chairman Henry
Chevallier Guild, who
will remain alongside his
brother and co-chairman
Barry to focus on innova-
tion and product devel-
opment, said the Su olk
cider company had been
“extremely impressed”
by Molson Coors’ han-
dling of Sharp’s, which
it bought in 2011, and
Staropramen, for which it
took over UK distribution
from Carlsberg in 2015.
Sharp’s turnover has
grown by almost £13m
since the takeover, hit-
ting £41.6m for the year
ending 31 December.‘Opportunities for Aspall to
be no 1 cider globally’Pinkster has unveiled a
limited-edition bottle for
its premium gin ahead of
Valentine’s Day.
It features a heart and a
‘Let the love be gin’ stra-
pline. It would build on
the growth of the special
edition bottle the brand
launched last year, which
led to a 335% year-on-
year sales boost over the
four weeks to Valentine’s
Day, said Pinkster mar-
keting director Will Holt.
Only 5,000 70cl bottles
will be made with an rsp
of £35, backed by a price
promotion , trade press
and a video.Pinkster adds
Valentine’s
bottle of gin
The initial eight vegan lines
include a Spanish Rioja
Co-op is tapping the
vegan movement with
plans to expand its range
of vegan wines by 30%.
The retailer plans to
launch eight lines in
February , with more to
follow later this year,
growing the o er from
Co-op to boost vegan
friendly wine lineup
77 to 100 options as it
expects demand for
vegan wine to pick up
throughout 2018.
A nimal products such
as bone marrow, sh oil,
and isinglass are com-
monly used as ning
agents for wine. In the
making of vegan-friendly
wine, the likes of carbon
and limestone are used.
Co-op would “continue
to challenge suppliers to
make wines vegan where
they can without a ect-
ing the attributes of the
liquid” said BWS cat-
egory trading manager
Simon Cairns.