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Following Barr’s acquisition of the Taut sports drink brand in January this year, the company’s relaunch of the brand will take place from September 2008.

Taut’s relaunch is focused on a new and improved functional sports bottle together with a new pack presentation which highlights the brand’s high performance credentials and its natural sports drink status. Taut is formulated with only natural ingredients and contains no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, flavours, colours or stabilisers and emulsifiers.

The range will consist of three isotonic variants which do not contain salts and a fourth variant Taut Endurance which is formulated with a higher level of salts than other sports drinks for those consumers who engage in high intensity sporting activities.

Adrian Troy, Head of Marketing said: “The sports and energy drinks market presents a huge opportunity for growth for those brands that deliver a clearly understood point of difference to consumers.

"We estimate that 20,000,000 of the UK’s population are active in sports and exercise but only half of these regularly drink sports drinks because they either don’t like the taste, find them a little sickly to stomach during exercise or have concerns about the ingredients. This is a huge sales opportunity which we believe that Taut can tap into.

“There is a real contradiction between exercising and training for a strong healthy body and then rehydrating with a sports drink that contains artificial additives. We are very excited about the relaunch because Taut will drive sales from existing sports drinkers as well as bringing new consumers in from people who currently reject sports drinks on taste and artificiality.”

Taut’s marketing in 2008 will see the brands first national advertising campaign which will encompass a new website, press, outdoor advertising as well as extensive sampling. In addition, Barr has involved Sir Matthew Pinsent, quadruple Olympic gold medallist, as brand ambassador for the brand.

The range consists of three isotonic variants goji pomegranate, orange mandarin, cranberry blackberry and a fourth variant Taut Endurance in salted lemon flavour all with a recommended retail price of £1.09.