Mix and March Forward
Evolving With Bar Staples and Important Variations

    Cadbury-Schweppes Americas Beverages, a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Cadbury-Schweppes, covers all of North America, including the United States, Canada and Mexico.
    Most people wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the company owns soft drink brands including 7Up, Dr. Pepper, Snapple, Mott’s and Hawaiian Punch. But the surprise for many may come in learning that CSAB — in its portfolio numbering more than 50 brands — owns some historic mixer names.

A Lot of Heritage
    “Then we have a great line of trendy, easy-to-use mixers,” says Leshawnda Larkin, CSAB commercial brand manager, mixers. Great, indeed, is the mixer realm of Cadbury-Schweppes, when considering the iconic bar staples in the company’s mixer line — including Mr. & Mrs. T, Rose’s and Holland House, and other big players such as Rose’s Cocktail Infusions, Rose’s Mojito and the Margaritaville line. And that’s to say nothing of the Schweppes line of carbonated mixers itself.
    “What’s great about the mixer business is that there’s a lot of heritage with the brands,” Larkin says. “Rose’s is probably our most well known brand in our portfolio and has a great reputation with bartenders.”
    Rose’s, which was born in 1867 to combat scurvy on seafaring vessels — by patenting a process to preserve lime juice without adding rum to it. “Within that brand, we have various (versions), such as Rose’s Lime Juice, Grenadine, Triple Sec and Sweet & Sour.
    “With time, you have to evolve and change,” Larkin says. “We want to make sure we keep Rose’s up to date and current, but also leverage the heritage and reputation it has. So, in 2003, we launched Rose’s Cocktail Infusions, which is a line of Martini mixes in trendy flavors. In 2007, we launched Rose’s Mojito.”
    Targeted to the home entertainer, bartenders also find convenience with the new plastic 1-liter bottles for Rose’s Mojito and Rose’s Cocktail Infusions that fit well behind the bar. 

Rose’s Mojito Launch
    As with all Mojito mixers on the market, Cadbury-Schweppes created Rose’s Mojito to answer bartender gripes about the time required to make a Mojito from scratch. 
“Also, sometimes it can take away from making other drinks and making tips,” Larkin observes.
    “This makes it easier for them to make a great-tasting Mojito,” she sys. “They would mix 3 parts of our mix to 1 part rum. They can just use that or add a splash of club soda, but it really makes it easier for the bartender.” The Rose’s Mojito line is available in Traditional (Lime), Mango and Passion Fruit flavors.
For Rose’s Cocktail Infusions, the mix ratio is 1-to-1.

Resources and Profit Potential
    Schweppes-Cadbury’s consumer site, www.mixuptheparty.com, tackles “the whole experience of entertaining,” Larkin says, and also can be a great resource for bartenders — with recipes, food pairings and other tips.
    The newly launched www.csabmixers.com is geared for bartenders, owners and distributors, providing more detailed product information, including product SKUs, recipes, product and packaging specifications and more.
    “We want to be the No. 1 place to come to really make bar-worthy drinks,” Larkin says.
    “We have a wide range of brands that participate in almost every flavor segment within the mixer category “Rose’s is the one that’s the most well known, but we have the No. 1 Bloody Mary mix with Mr. & Mrs. T. Holland House is a brand that’s very strong regionally on the east coast, and we have Margaritaville, which leverages Jimmy Buffett’s brand.”