Diageo shakes up commercial cocktail market with bag-in-box

Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business, is launching a new ready-to-serve cocktail dispense system using Rapak bag-in-box technology.

Smirnoff Mojito in bag-in-box is a simple, convenient solution allowing bars to serve high quality cocktails at an attractive price point and margin. The font and bag-in-box solution is an easy plug n play system for bars and does not need any technical expertise in draught systems or cocktails. The simplicity of the system enables bars to start offering delicious cocktails to their customers without the usual hassle.

The cocktails category is experiencing huge growth across Europe. However this growth is limited by two factors: firstly the time and expertise required by bar staff to create the perfect cocktail and secondly the high price point charged to consumers. Smirnoff Mojito unlocks the cocktail opportunity as it enables bars to serve consistently high quality cocktails at a reasonable price point, quickly and without the need for highly trained bar staff.

The bag is easily incorporated into the dispense system for trouble-free serving and can be fitted quickly by staff with no technical knowledge. The proven bag-in-box filling system ensures a hygienic transfer of product while newly developed additive free polyethylene film combined with a polyester laminate provide a flavour neutral contact layer and effective barrier protection for extended shelf.

The cocktail range, which offers 67 servings per pack and includes Smirnoff Mojito, Pampero Mojito and Cacique Mojito, was launched after several successful tests. By the end of 2011 it will be distributed in 12,000 bars and restaurants across 11 countries in Europe. It has enabled the Smirnoff brand to widen its product footprint and drive sales in new consumption occasions as well as enabling many of its accounts to start delighting their customers by offering a delicious Mojito for the first time.

Sales are already impressive. For example on-trade outlets in Ireland have seen an average rate of sale of 66 serves per week, which translates to a 5% share of the whole spirits category. Central to this commercial success is the cost efficiency, operational simplicity and effectiveness of the bag-in-box packaging solution.

Rapak and Smirnoff Mojito have been shortlisted for the UK Packaging Awards in the ‘Best Packaging of a New Product’ category.