Tropical drink Rio sees sales jump in Boost partnership
Six months on from Boost taking on full responsibility for sales, marketing and distribution of the Rio brand, the tropical drink has seen significant sales growth.
Supported with an extensive trade engagement campaign, the brand has achieved 27% year-on-year value growth (IRI, 52 weeks sales to 13 June 2021), making Rio the second fastest growing fruit carbonates brand in terms of value. In Feb to April 2021, Rio also saw an increase in volume sales of nearly 40% compared to the same period in 2020.
A nationwide marketing campaign has focused on driving brand and flavour awareness. More than 6,000 samples were given out in London, Manchester and Bristol, and further support included a comprehensive social media campaign.
Adrian Hipkiss, marketing director at Rio Drinks, says: “It is fantastic to see such a nostalgic and much-loved brand get a 2021 revamp to help drive awareness.
“Rio’s core messaging is all around ‘Release the sunshine’ which encourages drinkers to live by the Rio ethos and to live life on the sunny side. We believe this positive and vibrant messaging is something consumers can relate to.”
Rio entered into the partnership with Boost Drinks in February this year. As two privately-owned challenger brands with strong aligned cultures, both brands have products that provide added-value benefits to customers and are in the second and third largest growth brand categories within soft drinks.
The efforts have led to 17 new accounts for Rio. Boost has also carried out distribution driving activity with the aim of obtaining 6,000 unique distribution points across both 330ml SKUs of Rio.
The partnership has helped to achieve synergies in manufacturing and customer base, with the added benefit of reducing administration for customers. On top of that, there are significant environmental benefits and a reduced carbon footprint, due to logistical efficiencies, the company reports.
