By Clyde Mooney – editor Australian Hotelier
In line with global trends, a drink manufacturer has released ‘cocktail-flavoured’ energy drinks as the ultimate cocktail mixer, appealing to the trendy young professional that wants “to kick on”.
Emerging global brand Blu has premiered the new ‘Tequila’ and ‘Mojito’ flavours in Australia, hoping to engage with the on-premise and live music events, with major retail to come online in FY14.
Distributing in 45 countries, Blu cites its point of difference as its use of B-group vitamins to provide energy, having chosen to avoid the controversial ingredients (inositol and glucuronolactone) flagged by campaigners against energy drinks and their use with alcohol.
Speaking to TheShout, Blu Australia state manager for Queensland, Murray Brown, says their research echoed strong alignment with the hipster-led youth market already drinking cocktails and energy drinks regularly.
“A lot of the purist cocktail venues we currently service are still creating their cocktails from scratch, but are now using our products to enhance their creations.
“We are not trying to reinvent the wheel here we are just putting more wheels on the truck.”
The mixers meet market trends as identified at last year’s Sial Global Food Market Expo, in Paris, which pronounced cocktail-flavoured drinks across the board as the ‘fastest growing market in drink products globally’.
“The bottom line is we know that the market wants these products and so we have created them,” says Brown.
Blu Australia has been in operation since 2010, boasting national distribution, and pronounces it is “all about the nightlife”. Special offer for Shout readers.