Carlsberg Group is debuting a non-alcoholic extension of its Somersby cider brand, claiming the 0.0%-ABV product is the first alcohol-free cider with no sugar and no calories.
The newly launched range includes two flavours: apple and yuzu & lemon. The Copenhagen-headquartered group will commence the rollout this month, initially in Germany, ahead of release in Poland and Sweden next year.
Somersby Zero will be accompanied by the “brand’s most extensive marketing campaign in Germany to date”, according to the group .
Carlsberg’s CMO for Germany, Gunnar Fischer, said: “We are proud to be the first market within the Carlsberg Group to launch this promising product, ensuring we have the right choice for every taste in our portfolio.”
Carlsberg added: “With the ‘Beyond Beer’ category continuing to thrive, this launch reflects the Carlsberg Group’s ability to align with key consumer trends.”
In results for the three and nine months to the end of September, announced last week, group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen expressed his pleasure at “the development of our key long-term strategic growth categories, including … ‘Beyond Beer’. Aarup-Andersen admitted, however, that Carlsberg had been through a “tough quarter” in which sales rose by 1.3% on the corresponding three months of 2023 – the group’s slowest growth rate so far this year.
The company will report its full-year results tomorrow (6 February).
