Diageo praises Pimm’s cider success

The Pimm’s Cider Cup has been the most successfully launched cider innovation in the UK over the last 12 months, parent-company Diageo has claimed.

Pimm’s Cider Cup has outpaced other cider innovations on sale in the UK, Diageo claims (Photo: Diageo)

Joanna Segesser, brand manager for Pimm’s, said that investment behind the new drink, with its “distinctive twist”, has been the key reason behind its success.

She said, “It’s been amazing to see consumers respond so positively to Pimm’s Cider Cup in these first weeks and we are investing in the brand this summer to make sure it’s front-of-mind. We think it’s an instant classic.”

Citing Nielsen statistics up to the 23 May, Diageo says that in its first eight weeks since launch, Pimm’s Cider Cup performed better than any other cider innovation over the same amount of time in the last 12 months.

The new cider is a combination of Pimm’s No.1 spirit blended with British cider and strawberry and cucumber flavours, and is being pushed for the summer market.

With Diageo pledging £1.25m of support to the Pimm’s portfolio in the coming months, a new advertising campaign for Cider Cup will kick off in London in July. The digital media drive will see both the static and moving advertisements for Cider Cup across London near both on- and off-trade shops.

In keeping with its attachment to summer, Pimm’s Cider Cup will be one of the brands present this year in the Fly VIP area at Glastonbury festival.

Cider Cup will also feature at over 300 events this summer, along with other Pimm’s variants, Diageo has said.

Guy Dodwell, off-trade sales director for Diageo GB said, “We’re thrilled at how well Pimm’s Cider Cup is performing in GB and excited about the prospects for the brand, with new variants on the way.

“We were confident that we were onto a winner when we launched the product, and the early performance and feedback from both our customers and consumers has reconfirmed this.

“We want to be leading players in the fruit cider category and believe Pimm’s Cider Cup is the right product to take us there,” he said.

Correction: We initially stated that in its first eight weeks, Pimm’s Cider cup outsold all other cider innovations over the last 12 months. This has been changed to make it clear that it performed better in its first eight weeks than all other ciders in their first eight weeks.