Dalston’s range of craft soft drinks were first launched in cans in 2017, and have now secured a national listing on the back of sales of over 600,000 units. Three flavours of drink will be heading into M&B sites from the start of May: Lemonade, Cola and Ginger Beer.
Dalston’s also produces Fizzy Elderflower and Cherryade variants, launched earlier this month.
New packaging
To coincide with the new flavours hitting the shelves, Dalston’s has also revamped its packaging. The company hopes a more striking design reflects the ‘punchy’ flavours and actual colours of the drinks themselves.
The drinks are subtly blended with British spring water and a balanced amount of beet sugar, with the aim of providing an adult taste profile.
All of Dalston’s flavours come in below the 8g limit introduced by the new sugar levy, with each drink containing 6.5g to 7.2g of beet sugar per 100ml. The brand has therefore avoided having to reformulate its recipes or use artificial sweeteners to compensate for the new legislation.
'Additive-free' soft drinks
Dan Broughton, Dalston’s managing director said: “Our 2017 cans launch was a real hit; we ended up selling over 600,000 units, which was our most successful launch ever.
"Thanks to this and some major retail distribution wins, a start-up with a small east London brew yard is making the leap into being a credible national player.
“In the same way that craft beer has exploded in popularity over the past few years, we’re now witnessing a sustained rise in demand for more honest, additive-free and better-tasting soft drinks. Also, as consumers are embracing alcohol-free alternatives at home and on nights out, they’re looking for more exciting soft drinks than the usual sugar-heavy suspects.”