‘Bring back the original,’ Irn-bru maker AG Barr urged
● Online clamour for return of recipe after AG Barr puts out profit warning
Fans of Irn-bru have urged the makers of S cotland’s “other national drink” to bring back the original recip e after the company reported that profits are likely to be significantly down on last year.
T h e C u m b e r n a u l d - b a s e d company AG Barr pledged to take action to “regain momentum” after a year of “unprecedented” challenge for the soft drinks industry following carbon dioxide (CO2) shortages and a soft drinks levy known as the ‘sugar tax’.
AG Barr warned in a trading update that full-year profits could be down as much as 20 per cent on the previous 12 months.
While there were a number of reasons given for the challenges, unimpressed fans took t o s o c i a l med i a t o u rg e t h e company to tr y and reverse its fortunes by bringing back “original recipe” Irn-bru.
The iconic fizzy drink was a l t e r e d t o d e c r e a s e s u g a r content last year in a bid to avoid Irn-bru falling victim to the sugar ta x, with campaigns to protect “real” Irn Bru launched. Cans of original recipe Irn-bru now routinely sell for more than £5. Responding to the news of AG Barr’s concern over profits and revenue, one Twitter user wrote: “If they had consulted their customers with some market research or a proper consultation then their profits would be up as I’d presume majority would have been happy to keep old recip e and pay the sugar tax ... instead of having the change forced up on us.”
A n o t h e r a g r e e d : “T h e y should have kept the original recipe on sale, allowing customers a choice pay a higher price for the sugar loaded version or reduced sugar reduced price. Allow us to make our own choice.”
One Tweeter sent their sugg e s t i o n d i r e c t l y t o t h e I r n - Bru account, writing: “Simple resolution. Bring back original recipe #Irnbru,brand it as ‘Irn Bru Classic Girder Recipe’, and still make the rest low sugar ones, but make the high su g ar o n e mor e ex p e n s ive . You want to add an extra 20p on a can/50p on a 2l bottle? Go ahead! We’ll pay!!”
O t h e r s s h o w e d t h e i r strength of feeling by responding “good” to the profit warni n g o r b r a n d i n g t h e r e c i p e decision “sacrilege”.
An Irn-bru fan even said the return of the original recipe would be “up there with his wedding day.”
A sp okesp erson from IrnBru said: “We believe we made the right decision to reduce the sugar in Irn-bru and the vast maj o r i t y o f d r i n ke r s a g r e e . Irn-bru sales have been resilient to the wide range of factors affecting our wider business – even the weather.”
Irn-bru maker AG Barr has vowed to“take action to regain momentum” after the fizz came out of its sales and profits.
The group said the past year had been an “unprecedented” one for the soft drinks industry with“changing pricing and promotional dynamics” following the introduction of a sugar-tax levy alongside CO2 shortages and weather-related challenges.
In a trading update, the maker of “Scotland’s other national drink” warned that profits for the full year were likely to be down by as much as 20 per cent compared to the previous 12 months.
Revenue for the 26 weeks to 27 July this year is estimated to be in the region of £123 million, which would mark a 10 per cent decline on the prior year.
The Cumbernauld company said the weaker performance “has been exacerbated by some specific brand challenges, particularly in Rockstar energy and Rubicon juice drinks, as well as disappointing spring and early summer weather, most notably in Scotland and the north of England, and compounded further as we approach the half-year when the prior year comparative weather was at its peak”.
Barr’s Rubicon division has faced challenges since the introduction of the sugar levy, with several drinks companies having to change their recipes to reduce sugar levels.
The Rock star energy division has also had to contend with a crackdown and awareness- raising by campaigners about teenagers drinking high-caffeine drinks.
Chief executive Roger White said that although the cocktail mixer division Funk in was growing well, it has been a challenging start to the year for the rest of the company.
He told investors: “Weather comparatives and trading, particularly in the impulse onthe-go market, have been even tougher than expected which, along with some brand-spe - cific challenges, have led to a short-term impact on our financial performance.
“We are focused on returning to grow th and will continue to take the actions we believe necessary to succeed in the dynamic environment within which we operate.”
These actions include launching three new Rockstar drinks by the end of the summer and “recipe improvement activity” for Rub icon juice drinks.
It cautioned that “the benefit of these actions will not be felt until later in the second half of the financial year”.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett noted: “To say this is a curve ball is an understatement. Consumer goods companies like AG Barr are supposed to be reliable compounders, with sales that turn up come rain or shine.
“Unfortunately the combination of price changes and a bit more rain than shine has seen sales of Barr’s soft drinks trailing behind last year’s performance, and profits struggling even more. But it’ s important not to lose sight of some of AG Barr’s underlying attractions.”