Major revamp for WKD

By Staff Writer in Alcohol 5th September 2016

WKD – the UK’s top-selling alcoholic ready-to-drink (RTD) brand for the past decade – is the subject a major revamp, which sees the introduction of a new pack design across the WKD range and the unveiling of a new ‘WKD for the Now’ communications programme designed to spread the word via a network of social and more traditional media platforms,

“The sweeping changes coincide with the brand’s 20th anniversary and are set to re-tune WKD so that it is fully-engaged with the lifestyle of today’s 18 to 24-year-old consumers,” said marketing director Jo Sykes.

WKD’s brand owner, SHS Drinks, estimates that attracting one million new drinkers from this demographic could, over the next three years, generate an incremental £65m in sales for the RTD category across the total take-home and on-trade trading channels, with the take-home sector benefiting from £38m of that incremental revenue.

Sykes said there will be four variants in the “reinvented” WKD range: the original WKD Blue and WKD Iron Brew; new WKD Berry and WKD Passion Fruit (the latter being the re-named WKD Blush) giving them both specific flavour descriptors.

No fundamental changes have been made to the liquid in terms of flavour or ABV, which remains at 4%, and there are no changes to the recommended retail price.

All four WKD variants will be available in the cash and carry/convenience/independent retail sectors in new 700ml bottles and 275ml four-packs. New imagery will be introduced for the four-packs and all outer cases and the new-look WKD packs will start to roll-out from early October.

Marketing support includes a heavyweight communications programme on social media platforms and spanning mobile phones, live videos and new-generation social and digital platforms.

Source: Independent Retail News