Drinks firm develops thirst for growth

Purity Soft Drinks has seen £3 million of investment at its Mount Road site in the last couple of years and its Juiceburst brand of pure juices and juice drinks is becoming a familiar sight in shops across the UK, from independent stores to chains like WH Smiths and Superdrug.

Headed by newly appointed chief executive David Bell, Purity is now aiming to double its sales figures, which currently top £30 million a year.

Established in 1892, when it supplied its soft drinks to local pubs by horse-drawn dray, the company was then owned and run by the Cox family for 68 years until a management buyout in 2012 backed by investment group Langholm Capital.

Four months ago David Bell, the former commercial director at Youngs Seafood and one time sales director and marketing director at Mars UK, was recruited as the new chief executive.

One of his first jobs was overseeing the acquisition of London-based Firefly Tonics, which makes a range of premium natural drinks sold in stores such as Waitrose and in more than 40 countries overseas.

"It's been a busy but very exciting few months," said David. "But that suits me - I'm either full on or full off, I only know those two speeds."

He is also an enthusiastic advocate for his products. "I need to believe completely in the product I am working with, and I've been very fortunate to have worked with Mars chocolate and Young's fish.

"Our Juiceburst is a terrific drink. It tastes as good if not better than the top chilled juice brands but can be distributed and stored at room temperature which makes life much easier for the smaller retailer. And we sell in stores at the same price as the same size bottle of Coke or Pepsi."

The key to the quality of the drinks, he says, is a production method that minimises the damage done to the fruit.

"We optimise the flash pasteurisation process to retain more of the natural flavour of the fruits" said David. "And it means you get more of the fruit in the bottle too, with the majority of our drinks providing you with one of your five-a-day fruit and veg portions."

The company is also innovating with a new 'Skinny' range with less than 100 calories per bottle and still providing a portion of fruit, aimed at the lighter drink consumers.

"They have been tremendously successful," said David Bell. "We have launched three flavours so far and in the stores where they are distributed they are adding another 20-50 per cent to our sales."

"Obviously we can't compete with the likes of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, with their huge marketing budgets, but we know that if we can get our drinks in front of people and get them to try them, they will be converted."

Already marketing its drinks to stores, cafés and foodservice outlets with a range that appeals to a broad age group of adults, the company is now looking at the younger market as well.

"We are working on a new range of drinks that will be fully compliant with the new dietary regulations for schools," said David Bell "and we aim to be first to market".

At the moment the firm, which employs 60 people, is operating two shifts, from 6am to 10pm, five days a week. It also runs its own distribution and warehousing operations.

Investment in state-of-the-art production equipment means the site now has the capacity to produce up to 70 million bottles a year.