Volvic, the popular water brand from Danone, has added two new sugar-free flavours across its Touch Of Fruit range in the run-up to Christmas. Summer Fruit Sugar Free is now available in 50cl and 1.5L formats, while the special-edition Watermelon Sugar Free will hit shelves in a 50cl format in late January.

Jacqueline Lane, brand manager at Volvic, explains about the opportunity the new Touch Of Fruit Sugar Free flavours offer to retailers: “Christmas season or not, we know that a lot of consumers are trying to cut down on their sugar intake. Soft drinks play a big part in this, but not everyone wants to switch to plain water. Our Volvic Touch Of Fruit Sugar Free range perfectly fills this gap, presenting a fantastic way of combining great taste with sugar-free refreshment for consumers. Data proves that there’s a growing appetite for Volvic Touch Of Fruit Sugar Free, as the brand has grown by as much as +29% YOY in the convenience channel.

“The two new variants offer a very exciting proposition to retailers: our market research shows that Summer Fruit Sugar Free scored as the best-tasting flavour within our portfolio. Consumers know and love the regular Touch Of Fruit Summer Fruit variant, and we’re excited to be able to bring them the same great taste with the added benefit of being sugar free. Watermelon Sugar Free is a delicious, completely new addition to our portfolio. This fruity flavour is very on-trend, and we are confident that it will be a hit with consumers.”

The launch will be backed by a heavyweight marketing campaign from January 2018. The initiative will be centred around health to strike a chord with the ‘new year, new you’-mindset that many consumers embrace following the holidays, according to Lane.

She adds: “Our new Volvic Touch Of Fruit Sugar Free flavours enable retailers to tap into the trend around health while offering refreshing, delicious taste. This combination puts them into a great position to grow their bottom line, and we encourage retailers to stock up on the new sugar free Summer Fruit now to meet demand and keep an eye out for Watermelon Sugar Free in January.”