Nobby’s Nuts owner PepsiCo is launching a Russian Roulette flavour, where one in six of the coated peanuts is flavoured with fiery wasabi.
The new flavour, a limited edition, will be available to pubs in the next few weeks until the end of January, and is part of a wider strategy to reinvigorate the on-trade-only brand.
“We want to inject a bit of life into the market and generate a bit of talk around Nobby’s Nuts in order to bring new people in, and old Nobby’s fans back to the brand,” said business manager Pete Skipwith.
The company’s research suggests that 78% of consumers are open to trying new flavours of nuts, but that the average licensee only stocks three kinds.
“We know that consumers love trying new flavours and are confident that Russian Roulette will create a compelling reason for publicans to add one more nut to their range, offering something completely new and different,” Skipwith added.
The launch will be supported by a trade campaign, sampling and a range of point-of-sale for stockists. More activity is promised for the brand in the new year, including some innovation around merchandising the category, as PepsiCo research has found that 66% of consumers purchase nuts they have seen on display.
“Effective merchandising is vital to unlocking incremental sales,” Skipwith said.