Sirco sales up 300% as claims and taste receive makeover
Eric Bates, sales manager at Sirco owner, Multiple Marketing, would not reveal volume specifics but told us a tweaked formula to make the taste lighter as well as initiatives to build awareness around the benefits of the DSM-Provexis owned Fruitflow tomato extract, were making an impact.
Broader distribution including Holland and Barrett, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose as well as Amazon.com and Ocado.com were also helping.
“We felt there is a lack of knowledge about what the EFSA affirmation represents so we are working on that,” Multiple Marketingbates said.
He said there were point-of-purchase and other PR campaigns planned as well as multi-buy options for the 1 litre version. A 250ml version has also been launched for the “person on the go”.
The product packaging gives both a user-friendly, blood flow-focused version of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)-approved claim, plus an asterisked addition that gives the more technical statement about blood platelet aggregation.
It is not the first time the Sirco product has built a campaign around the EU claim – it did that in 2010 the claim was approved – but it is now working more closely with DSM, which provides greater opportunities to build marketing messages in B2C and B2B environments.
“With the new formulation we are making the point that Sirco can be a replacement for a daily juice,” Bates said. “It is also a natural replacement for low-dose aspirin.”
Beyond the UK
Sirco has distribution in Greece and other countries are being explored including Denmark, Austria, South Korea, China and the Gulf region.
Bates said the uptake may have been higher for Sirco since the rare claim win if a big brand had taken Fruitflow onboard, but noted the added input of DSM may fill this gap.
He cited the example of tennis pro Serena Williams developing deep vain thrombosis as an example that blood flow concerns went much broader than just the elderly.
