Carling Premier to be relaunched

Coors Brewers has announced it is to relaunch its nitrokeg lager brand Carling Premier.

The Burton-based brewer will be putting serious marketing support behind the relaunch - including a heavyweight advertising campaign to be unveiled later this year.

Carling Premier was originally launched in 1994 and enjoyed a big sales peak in the late 1990s - in 1998 sales of Carling Premier exceeded 70 million pints per year.

Simon Scullion, senior brand manager for Carling Premier at Coors Brewers, said: "We are delighted to be increasing our focus behind Carling Premier. It's a unique brand - it's the only smooth lager in the easy drinking sector in England and Wales and we are confident the relaunch will be a massive success."

Support was withdrawn for the 4.7 per cent ABV brand around seven years ago as Coors believed - particularly because of the growth of brands like Stella Artois - that the taste of the British lager drinker was moving more towards stronger, continental lagers. However, according to Mr Scullion, the Premier brand still has retained a loyal following.

"Carling Premier has retained a strong fan base, with recent research revealing that 86 per cent of consumers were aware of the brand and 76 per cent confirmed they would try the brand if it was available," he said.

"All the feedback we have had so far has been phenomenal - so the opportunities for licensees to grow their business alongside Carling Premier are immense."

Coors has developed a substantial support package to help pubs maximise Carling Premier's potential.

It will feature on the brewer's new-look cold beer station and a full range of promotional material has been developed including branded glassware, posters, branded barstaff clothing, drip mats, bar-runners and table-talkers.