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Premium UK soft drinks brand, bottlegreen is looking to create an entirely new category within the £805 million dilutables market with its latest new product development. Targeting the previously untapped premium kids sector, bottlegreen is launching Junior – a range of three completely natural premium cordials that will target children aged from four to twelve.

Part of the company’s drive to more than double sales to £25 million by 2012, this latest launch is a completely new departure for the brand and one which it believes will enable it to be at the forefront of a move to build a premium cordials market for kids that has the potential to be worth in the region of £17 million over the next five years.

“We have seen a real shift in the adult dilutables market in recent years to premiumisation,” said bottlegreen’s Director of Marketing, Andrew Mallinson. “Nearly a fifth of all sales within this market are now for premium cordials, equating to some £43 million in sales.

However, premium products that are crafted with care (as opposed to being mass produced) are virtually non-existent in the children’s market and we believe that there is the potential to trade-up around 3% of the current £565 million total children’s dilutable sales into this new premium category.”

The Junior range from bottlegreen will feature three new flavours which have all been specifically designed to appeal to children: Apple & Elderflower; Blackcurrant & Apple; and Orange & Mango. All carry the bottlegreen assurance of being made from all natural ingredients, with no added preservatives, additives or artificial colours or flavourings.

Junior will mirror the look of bottlegreen’s adult cordials, being packaged in their trademark conical glass bottles to give it instant brand recognition and reassurance on shelf. It will also feature a new, fun and friendly design, created by Ziggurat Brands, that will not only appeal to kids but to mums as well.

“We have carried out extensive research on Junior and spent a significant amount of time talking to both mums and their children about what they specifically wanted from a soft drink, and have conducted extensive taste tests” continued Andrew Mallinson.

“Mums want to give their children the best quality products at an affordable price that not only they will enjoy but also will be good for them. Therefore taste was top of the agenda, followed by an increasing desire for natural, quality ingredients at an affordable price.”

The bottlegreen Junior range is being introduced from mid-April and will be priced at £2.69 for a 500ml bottle. Initial listings have been secured with Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose and bottlegreen will be supporting the launch with introductory offers, a significant consumer PR campaign and sampling activity at consumer events throughout 2008.