Public outcry over two-litre vodka mix in a box
In theory, Diageo is right: why shouldn’t you have a two-litre box of a spirit mix sitting in your fridge waiting to be cracked open and shared by you and your friends? Diageo Australia Managing Director Tim Salt said the premium vodka and orange or cranberry juice mix had a crisp and tart taste and was aimed at adults aged 30-plus who entertained at home.
Unfortunately, health experts don’t see it this way. They think that a vodka mix in a box is just an invitation to get down to some serious imbibing.
At a time when there is growing concern about binge drinking, which alcohol company in its right mind would launch a big-box cocktail? It seems like Diageo has forgotten that any fruity beverage laced with alcohol formerly known as “alcopops” has become a no-no in Australia ever since the introduction of the “alcopops tax” in 2008.
However, alcopops, pre-mixed drinks, or flavoured alcoholic beverages whatever you like to call them, represent a sizeable amount of Diageo’s business. Diageo cannot afford to abandon the category altogether, even if that’s what the anti-alcohol lobby would like drinks companies to do.
What annoys the health advocates though is that Diageo is constantly testing the boundaries. Last year Diageo Australia launched Smirnoff Cocktails – a range of pre-mixed popular cocktails available in 750 ml bottles.
As the bottle did not cause an outcry, Diageo probably thought: let’s get bigger. What difference does it make if my container is 750 ml or 2 litres?
To the anti-alcopop-lobby, a lot.
Interestingly, Australians seem to be in two minds over alcohol in boxes. While a two-litre Smirnoff vodka mix is not ok, a four-litre wine cask is. Wines in boxes (or cask wines) are immensely popular. Walk into any bottle shop and you’ll find these boxes lining the walls. Wines in boxes are also very cheap. At the end of September, Liquorland, a chain of bottle shops, sold two four-litre boxes of wine for AUD 20 (EUR 14.30). That’ a litre of wine for AUD 2.50 and a real bargain if you want to drink yourself into oblivion.
Cath Peachey, the CEO of DrinkWise, an alcohol industry funded body, said Australia had a drinking problem, with research showing one in five people aged 14 to 29 years drank to inappropriate levels.
Ms Peachey added that until such was addressed, any product that contained multiple standard drinks was risky.
Perhaps Diageo should have thought about that before releasing its Smirnoff Signature Serves.
