Nichols plans relaunch of sugar-free drinks range

By Gwen Ridler

- Last updated on GMT

Nichols' relaunch of sugar-free brands will include the feel Good range of soft drinks
Nichols' relaunch of sugar-free brands will include the feel Good range of soft drinks

Related tags Sugar

Nichols announced a relaunch of its sugar-free brands this summer, following the news of the tax on sugary drinks, and predicted earnings would be in line with expectations.

The relaunch will include its Feel Good brand of adult juice drinks which the company bought in 2015. The announcement came during its annual general meeting.

Nichols released Vimto Remix this year and follows a trend of product releases that contain no added sugar.

The UK sugar tax will come into effect in 2018. British drinks manufacturers will have to pay a levy on drinks with added sugar.

Raise £520M

George Osborne revealed the controversial tax in March and said it would raise £520M in its first year.

Chief executive Marnie Millard said: “Whilst we recognise sugar consumption is a shared responsibility, we do not believe that a tax on soft drinks is an effective solution or fair to consumers.”

The soft drinks manufacturer also revealed it expected to deliver full year earnings in line with market expectations, but has found conditions in the UK market to be challenging.

Non-executive chairman John Nichols said: “We are pleased to report that the group’s trading performance for the year to date is in line with management expectations.

‘Incremental impact’

“UK revenues are benefiting from the incremental impact of both The Noisy Drinks Company Limited, of which we acquired the remaining equity in January 2016, and the Feel Good brand acquired in July 2015.

Our focus has also been on preparing for the re-launch of the Feel Good brand. The re-launch will be introduced to the trade ahead of the summer trading season.”

Meanwhile, the annual general meeting had good news but would depend on summer trading.

This covers the quietest quarter of the year, with all the anticipated growth for the 2016 financial year dependent on good momentum coming from last year's bolt-on deals, a reasonable summer and further international progress,” ​said city analyst N+1 Singer.

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