British soft drink maker Cawston Press says it is ‘tackling the Government’s impending sugar levy head on to restore a good name for fizzy drinks’.
Launching in April, the new range will consist of sparkling Rhubarb, Cloudy Apple, Elderflower Lemonade and Ginger Beer. The brand will use only pressed fruit juice to sweeten its sparkling drinks, despite, it says, fruit prices rising by over 60%, due to late frosts and a poor harvest. Cawston Press says that it will be the only brand in the UK market to sweeten its ginger beer using only pressed juice.
Each of the new recipes will come in at under 90 calories, with 31% less total sugar than before.
“In some cases we are upping the fruit juice content by up to four times per recipe,” explains Cawston Press MD, Steve Kearns. “For a small company like ours, that’s an enormous investment. We know from our 30 years experience in pressing fruit that nature does it best and it’s a small price to pay to know we’re bringing the best quality, best tasting drinks to the market. We believe in what we are doing and are excited to be paving the way for the future of soft drinks.”
He adds: “Cawston Press was started because we were frustrated by the lack of good quality soft drinks made from simple, natural ingredients, without the preservatives and artificial nonsense that give fizzy drinks a bad name. Our recipes are just that – recipes, dreamed up in a kitchen, not an industrial lab. This range is simpler, crisper and drier and because we’ve added more fruit they’re even fuller flavoured than before. Our Ginger Beer has a fiery depth of flavour because we’ve used three different types of finest ginger root. Our Elderflower Lemonade is more fragrant and with pressed lemon juice, more zesty and refreshing. We’re giving consumers what they want; natural ingredients, delicious and exciting flavours but with less of the sugar.”
