The juice market has changed. Goulburn Valley is facing new imperatives, some of which it struggles to meet. And a barrage of new competitors, some of which have new, now and back-to-nature in their arsenal.
In January, Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) announced a production shake-up. It moved juice production from Waikerie in South Australia to its major beverage facility in Thebarton, Adelaide. And it began a $2.9 million upgrade of Thebarton. Juice extraction and blending for Crusta and Goulburn Valley juice products continue to be done at Waikerie, but all bottling and packaging operations were scheduled to move to Thebarton by mid 2014.
Now, it's time for Goulburn Valley's bottle and packaging designs to get an upgrade.
Pack changes to the Goulburn Valley Juice range began to hit shelves this month. The Goulburn Valley Quencher range will follow suit in September.
The new Goulburn Valley bottles use the blowfill manufacturing process, resulting in a lighter weight with a 25% less PET, easier-to-hold bottle. The bottles are being promoted to the trade as a more sustainable and functional option.
The launch of the new Goulburn Valley Juice bottle will be supported by a range of point-of-sale items including trade presenters, A3 posters, shelf strips and fridge decals to educate customers and consumers about the pack refresh. The Goulburn Valley Quencher upgrade will also be supported by fridge decals.
Because of the move to a blowfill bottle, the Goulburn Valley Quencher pack size change from 420mL to 350mL, to create a more affordable product in line with its competitors.