Scottish Courage (ScotCo) has marked its first foray into the ready to drink (RTD) sector with the release of a fruit flavoured sparkling wine aimed squarely at females.
The launch of Bliss, two Californian chardonnays mixed with fruit juices and sparkling water, is designed to bridge the gap between the RTD sector and a thriving wine market.
It is a marked departure for a company that has so far resisted the temptation to invest in the premium packaged spirit (PPS) market.
Fiona Vernon, marketing manger of innovation at ScotCo, said: "Beer is still the critical part of what Scottish Courage is about but there are a number of occasions and consumers whose needs aren't met by beer and a large part of these are female drinkers."
Ms Vernon added that ScotCo's decision to deviate from its core beer business has been prompted by the perceived lack of new ideas in the previously buoyant PPS sector.
"The innovation seems to have run out of the sector and the market has become a bit apathetic," said Ms Vernon.
"These drinks have started to be drunk by a wider age group and that's taken some of the excitement away. The PPS market is driven by young people who are looking for something that's different and tastes good, but the market's stopped providing them with that."
Single-serve sparkling wines have been a fixture in the upmarket style bar sector for some time, courtesy of several champagne houses such as Pommery, but the wine-based premium packaged market has only really emerged following the duty rise on premium packaged spirits.
As a wine-based concept, Bliss is placed in a lower tax bracket but ScotCo is recommending a retail price on a parity with the most expensive PPS brands in the fridge.
Bliss (5.5 per cent ABV) will go head-to-head with female-friendly PPS brands such as Reef and Archers Aqua as well as a few recently-launched wine-based concepts such as Cavela from GBL International.
The brand will initially be unleashed into 100 bars and late-night venues on the hedonistic Newcastle circuit with a national roll-out planned for later this year.
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