Danes' thirst for sugar-free and lower-calorie soft drinks and beer has increased significantly in recent years, and more diet and sugar-free products have entered their shopping baskets. But while the range of soft drinks and beer has grown, there has not been a reduced-calorie cider.

That's about to change as Carlsberg Denmark is launching the first of its kind with half the calories of Somersby Apple Original.

"Somersby Apple Lite is a refreshing cider with a mild sweetness complimented with fruity apple notes, similar in many ways to our existing Apple Cider, but with half the calories and a less sweet flavour profile," says Allan Aagaard Jensen, brand manager for Somersby at Carlsberg Denmark.

Demand for fewer calories

More consumers are looking for an alternative to cider with fewer calories and less sweetness.

"For a number of years, there has been a great demand for light and low-calorie products, and combined with the Danes' continued strong focus on health, the time is right to launch Denmark's first low-calorie cider, which more people are also demanding," says Allan Aagaard Jensen and continues:

"Our ambition is to expand our cider category and offer an alternative to consumers who want a lower calorie cider that is also less sweet."

Somersby Apple Lite has an alcohol content of 4.0%, even though it is a reduced-calorie version. And getting the right flavour and amount of sweetness with fewer calories has been an exciting and challenging task, which has now been achieved.

"Producing a low-calorie cider is complicated because flavour is the most important parameter, but after a lot of thorough and hard work, we now have a cider that we are sure consumers will enjoy. We see a clear trend in the market that more people want a less sweet cider variant, and of course we want to accommodate that," says Allan Aagaard Jensen.