Pernod Ricard drops Malibu Red and makes changes to Oddka range

The move came to light at the same time as brand owner Pernod Ricard UK (PRUK) highlighted a stellar overall UK performance in the last 12-months, up 8.6% in value against a market growth of 4%.

This despite a fall in global sales of 7%, due to unfavourable exchange rates and the Chinese market dropping 23%, the company revealed at its year end results.

A number of brands helped the French company’s UK arm put in a decent performance, including the original Malibu variant, which is now seeing growth in the on-trade for the first time in eight years.

PRUK managing director Denis O’Flynn told the PMA that promotions, such as this summer’s Best Summer Ever Project at Ibiza Rocks and a ramped up programme of activity on social media, had boosted the brand.

“Malibu is like a leaky bucket,” he said. “It’s a brand that needs constant recruitment and you need to have more people coming in than going out.”

Absolut, up 11% by value, and Campo Viejo, which is now the UK’s number one selling red wine, have also performed particularly well for the company in this market, although new brand Oddka, launched a year ago, is to undergo some changes.

“This is a work in progress for us and there have been some learnings,” O’Flynn explained. “We are going to keep two or three of the variants on permanently and then rotate the others periodically as limited editions.”

Electricity and Salted Caramel Popcorn have been earmarked for the core range, with a new flavour, Strawberry Milkshake, touted as the first of the rotating flavours.

NPD will remain a priority for PRUK, however, with O’Flynn targeting two to three launches a year, the majority of which will be new brands and not just range extensions, he confirmed.

The company also remains committed to its “reach into the mainstream” strategy for the UK on-trade, as revealed in the PMA at the end of last year, and pinpointed London as a key market.

“London is the most visited city in the world now, which makes it a great shop window, and it sets the trends both in the UK and across the globe,” explained O’Flynn.