Kopparberg expands into fruit beer market

Swedish cider brand Kopparberg is expanding its portfolio into the fruit-beer market.

Launching in late February, the 5% ABV Kopparberg Fruit Lager will initially be available in lemon and lime flavour as an alternative to other lagers on the market.

According to Kopparberg, the beer undergoes “the traditional lagering process” but does not contain hops – instead, the fresh juice of lemon and lime are added.

The resulting taste is described as a balance of Kopparberg’s fruit flavour with subtle lager bitterness.

“Our research demonstrated that fruit is still a hit with our millennial drinkers, as our fruit ciders remain number one in the category,” Jodie Alliss, senior marketing manager at Kopparberg said.

“A fruit lager was a natural progression for us and it’s something our master brewer has been perfecting over the past 18 months.”

Joining a host of lager alternatives in the marketplace, the new Kopparberg product aims to recruit new consumers to the brand. 

“We think we have a unique proposition in comparison to the radlers of the world at around 2% to 2.8% ABV and other fruit beer around the 4% mark.

“These are more Continental, heavier beers, whereas we wanted to produce something with what we feel is a more premium ABV that is also really light and refreshing.”

Support for the product launch will form part of Kopparberg’s £6m marketing campaign starting in May, while the Swedish brand has allegedly secured listings with “some of the largest on-trade accounts in the UK”.