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Est. 1996

Issue 135

May 2008

ISSN: 1357-1168

Merrydown Spices It Up

 

 

Merrydown is pioneering a unique marketing campaign to showcase a new food and drink pairing. TV food and drink pundit Joe Wadsack is supporting the campaign stating that cider is a natural match for hot and spicy Indian foods. And the flavour of Merrydown, made with the juice of eating apples rather than bitter cider apples, goes particularly well with curries.

Merrydown is using this link between its ciders and curry to tap into a new usage occasion by demonstrating how its unique recipe, using the juice of crisp eating apples and Champagne yeast, makes Merrydown ciders the perfect match. The initiative comes at a time when the premium cider category is thriving, showing an 87% increase on the MAT in volume.*

The "Curry and Merrydown" campaign was launched at London Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Benares, when Joe Wadsack matched Merrydown's ciders alongside a seven course tasting menu from award-winning chef Atul Kochur.

Joe said: "Cider is a fantastic drink. It is cool and refreshing, making it the perfect accompaniment to spicy food. We worked closely with the chef at Benares to match the ciders to the tasting menu and the results are a revelation."

Chris Carr, Managing Director of Merrydown, said: "Consumers traditionally drink beer with their curries, but Merrydown, which has been made to the same Sussex recipe for 60 years, goes just as well - if not better.

"Curry is a huge market in the UK, with adults spending 5% of their salaries annually on enjoying a curry. More than 220 million ethnic meals are served in the UK each year, so there is a huge opportunity for consumers to enjoy this great matching of food and drink for themselves.

"We pride ourselves on the fact that each bottle of Merrydown Cider is made with love - the apples we use, the Sussex recipe and our heritage are all proof of that. Atul also prides himself on the love, care and attention that goes into his food, which made Benares the perfect location to launch our campaign."

Merrydown will be targeting curry lovers throughout the year with an invitation to the public to attend a curry lovers' evening, plus continual curry- focused activity on the Merrydown website. Retailers can take advantage of the link by ordering free curry-orientated POS, including empty belly posters, shelf barkers and wobblers, via a dedicated POS hotline 0800 9173450.

Trade enquiries - SHS Sales & Marketing Tel 01242 570288

 

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Mood Food is published by FSR, London, England © 2008 

Editors:

Peter J. Grove

Editorial office: PO Box 416 Surbiton, Surrey, England, KT1 9BJ

Tel: 020 8399 4831

ISSN 1357-1168 email: GroveInt@aol.com