Accolade Wines is rolling out its new Echo Falls Vodka Summer Berries edition in travel retail.
The Australia-based wine company collaborated with P&O Ferries in pop-up outlets, which operated on Dover Calais routes between 28 May and 3 June, and between 25 June and 1 July. The stores highlighted the flavoured vodka’s versatility with innovative serving suggestions, cocktails and sampling.
Multi-price promotions across the Echo Falls Summer Fruits Vodka, Fruit Fusions and Wine portfolio were offered, along with gwps of branded stirrers, ice trays and fruit flutes.
Accolade Wines said sales of Echo Falls Vodka Summer Berries on the UK domestic market had exceeded expectations and the company had “high hopes” of a similar performance in travel retail. Commercial Director Global Travel Retail Rupert Firbank commented: “We saw flavoured vodka as the next logical step for the Echo Falls brand, given the success of our Echo Falls Fruit Fusion collection.
“In the market, categories are blurring, with fruit cider leading the way. We saw a gap for a more affordable flavoured vodka offering, which we think will attract new consumers to the category. Early results are hugely promising.
“Within travel retail, we are now listed with P&O Ferries, DFDS and Eurotunnel, and are committed to build on this initial presence in 2018 and beyond.”
Echo Falls, which is the wine sponsor of the hit UK hit reality TV series Love Island, said it is a leading wine brand in the UK, bought by one in every six households. Echo Falls Fruit Fusion boasts an 83% share of the fruit wine market, and the brand said it is still generating double-digit growth three years after launch.
As the best-selling variant of the Echo Falls Fruit Fusion range, Summer Berries was a logical choice for the first Echo Falls vodka flavour, the brand stated.
“There are many similarities between the profiles of flavoured vodka shoppers and the Echo Falls Fruit Fusion shopper,” Firbank added.
“Our research revealed that the latter is twice as likely to buy flavoured vodka compared with other wine shoppers, but feels priced out of the category. We’re confident that our new vodka introduction will prove hugely popular with this customer demographic, and allow us to add yet another profitable pillar to the successful Echo Falls portfolio.”
