A sense of fun and a focus on Scottish convenience retailers and consumers keeps drink top of the table
SCOTLAND’S other national drink – Irn-Bru – has once again topped the Kantar/Scottish Grocer table as the top non-alcoholic take-home food and drink brand in the country.
And that really shouldn’t surprise anyone involved in the convenience channel, given the special connection Scots have with the brand.
It’s also partly down to the unique taste and the fact that the brand has been developed to offer Irn-Bru in a variety of popular, modern formats.
The soft drink also resonates so strongly with the Scottish public thanks to some brilliant campaigns created by maker AG Barr over the years – including the Snowman TV ad, which is returning to screens again this year.
Commercial director Jonathan Kemp highlighted the example of the huge advert on display at Glasgow airport as an example of that clever, light-hearted approach.
It is clearly aimed to show the place Irn-Bru has in the hearts of many Scots consumers as it carries the slogan: “It’s not about where you’re going. It’s about where you’re from.”
Irn-Bru’s sense of fun also runs through to its limited editions, which this summer came in the form of Irn-Bru Xtra Tropical and Xtra Ice Cream flavours.
And the latter led to another first – a humorous TikTok advert featuring an ice cream van and the suggestive phrases “We’ve got a passion for summertime” and “It’s like Irn-Bru Xtra and ice cream had a baby”.
The advert was a massive hit with fans of the social media platform and Kemp said: “We sold 50% more of the limited-editions than we expected to.”
Another success story comes in the form of the new PWR-BRU offering – launched at the end of August – that is set to both disrupt and grow the Scottish big can energy drink market. Sales are already ahead of expectations.
The commercial director described the newcomer as being “from the house of Irn-Bru – it’s part of the same family but like the whacky cousin”.
As part of the launch, the company partnered with independent convenience retailers to examine how the range of four flavours performed in store from launch.
As Kemp said: “The Scottish convenience channel is hugely important to us. We started in 1875 by delivering to local shops and we undoubtedly have big business in the sector because we put a lot of effort into it and focus on it.”
As well as having a dialogue with Scottish convenience retailers, Irn-Bru bosses also have a consumer-centric approach.
They have recognised that drinkers want a choice of sugar level, with all bar the original 1901 Irn-Bru now HFSS compliant.
As for next year, Kemp said there would be more limited editions and, with Scotland already qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals, he promised some fun based around that.
