Bombay Sapphire launches long-awaited rtd gin into grocery channel

Gin brand Bombay Sapphire has launched its first RTD in a can, which will roll out on supermarkets shelves next month.

The brand, which is owned by Bacardi,

Bombay Sapphire’s VP Victoria Morris said it had frequently been asked when it was planning to enter the rtd market, but it had taken its time to get a drink that did the brand justice.  

“The development of Bombay Sapphire® & Tonic took time for good reason, as we know our consumers expect only the very best from us and we are extremely proud to say that we’ve created a Ready-to-Drink befitting to the Bombay Sapphire name in terms of taste, quality, craft and ingredients,” she said.

“We look forward to shaking up the Ready-to-Drink category with an option that our fans will love, and that promises to be unrivalled when it comes to taste.”

The company said its master of botanicals, Ivano Tonutti and master distiller, Dr. Anne Brock, had spent time refining a formula that balanced the demand for a product for the sake of convenience without “foregoing quality”.

The new rtd is already available on Ocado and will go on shelf in Tesco from 12 March, before rolling into the wider UK grocery and convenience sector over the summer (RRP: £2.80).

It comes off the back of booming gin sales, which totalled £2.5 billion in the year to June 2019, according to figures published by the WSTA, with sales worth £961m in the off-trade, up 34% on the previous year. Sales were boosted by the fflavoured gin category, which  contributed over 80% of the growth in gin sales in UK retail in the year to July 2019.

The pre-mixed drinks category – which includes cocktails, long drinks, and flavoured alcoholic beverages – grew 5% globally in 2018, the drinks busniess’s sister publication The Spirits Business, reported in May, based on IWSR Drinks Market Analysis,

According to the IWSR, Bombay Sapphire is the world’s number one premium gin by value and volume.

Last month company announced it was expanding the Bombay Sapphire range with the launch of four liqueurs that add a “floral or fruit boost” to a standard G&T, which it said came would cater for the “growing demand for personalisation” within the food and drinks sector.