Kopparberg launches elderflower and lime cider

We've had pear cider, strawberry cider, iced draught cider… and now the latest attempt to breathe new life into the cider category is an elderflower and lime variant.

Kopparberg, the Swedish cider brand best known for its pear and mixed fruit ciders, will make Kopparberg Cider with Elderflower & Lime available from March.

It is another bid by a big player to reinvigorate cider, whose success story has somewhat petered out. According to on-trade data gatherers CGA Strategy, packaged cider declined eight per cent in volume terms year-on-year in the third quarter of last year, and draught cider one per cent.

Davin Nugent, managing director of Cider of Sweden, Kopparberg's UK subsidiary, said: "We look forward to widening the consumer base further with the introduction of Elderflower & Lime. Widening the consumer base for cider is vital in order to provide for the long term sustainability of the category. It is now about more than just apples and pears."

"We know 2009 will be a much more challenging year both economically and competitively but nonetheless we remain confident that Kopparberg will continue to attract new consumers and maintain its strong growth of recent years."

One of Kopparberg's best selling variants in its home markets of Sweden and Finland, Elderflower & Lime combines the juice of the two fruits with apple cider, resulting in a slightly drier taste than the brands' core range.

Available in 500ml bottles, the new variant has an ABV of four per cent, the same as that of Kopparberg with Mixed Fruit.

In the on-trade, listings have already been achieved for the new product with Mitchells & Butlers, and wholesale listings with WaverleyTBS, Coors, Mathew Clark, Parfetts, Classic Drinks and HB Clark.