food.wikisort.org - Beverage

WKD also known as ‘Wicked’ is a brand of alcopop produced by Beverage Brands. It is sold and heavily marketed in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the slogan ‘Have you got a WKD (for "wicked") side?’, and also in many countries in mainland Europe. AC Nielsen ranked it as the number-one UK ready-to-drink (RTD) alcopop in 2006.[1] In December 2014 to comply with alcohol tax laws and to minimise future tax increases, “Alcoholic Mix WKD” replaced the old “Original WKD”, and the old Original Mix is now no longer available in both the UK and Ireland. The small change to the alcohol element of the WKD was not intended to change the taste of the product and still contains triple distilled vodka. In addition, it contains an alternative alcohol base (not wine) to minimise tax. The actual recipe remains unchanged.^{[citation needed]} In November 2022, it was announced that the WKD bottling facility in Ayrshire, Scotland is to close by the end of the year due to rising costs. [2]

WKD Original Vodka

WKD logo
Type	Vodka
Manufacturer	Beverage Brands
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Related products	List of vodkas
Website	wkd.co.uk

Product information

WKD originally contained 5.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), but this was reduced to 5% in October 2003,[3] to 4.5% on 25 July 2005, and later to 4%, current as of 2020. The drink was launched in August 1996 in Scotland under the name 'Wicked'. Initially available in 330ml bottles, the bottles were later reduced to 275ml, matching other alcopops. The 275ml bottles are sold in pubs, bars, and shops across the UK, with shops also selling multipacks of 4,10 and 12, and 700ml bottles.

Varieties

Current varieties

As of 2020^[update]:

No.	Name	Information	Release date
1	WKD Blue	"Mixed-fruit" flavour	1996
2	WKD Iron Brew	Orange coloured, Irn-Bru flavour
3	WKD Berry	Dark red, berry flavour
4	WKD Mango Crush	Orange coloured, mango flavour
5	Passion Fruit	Peach coloured, passion fruit flavour
6	NKD Blueberry and Elderflower	Low calorie, violet, blueberry and elderflower flavour	2018
7	NKD Lemon and Lime	Low calorie, light green coloured, lemon and lime flavour	2018
8	Pink Gin	Pink coloured, raspberry flavour	2019
9	Orange and Passionfruit	Yellow coloured, orange and passionfruit flavour	2019

1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 are sold in standard mixed multi-packs.

Discontinued varieties

• WKD Original Vodka Silver

Clear, "tropical" flavour.

• WKD Blonde

Apple-flavoured, but not cider-based; yellow.

• WKD Core

Cider-based drink, apple-flavoured, green. Introduced 2009.

• WKD Purple

"Mixed berry" flavour.

• WKD Green

Green apple flavour.

• WKD Orange

Orange-flavoured and coloured.

• WKD Vegas

"Mixed fruit" flavour, dark purple.

Advertising

WKD Vodka has been heavily promoted in the UK. Promotion includes a TV advertising campaign, a national poster campaign, scoreboard sponsorship at Premiership football clubs, giving out samples in bars and clubs, sponsorship, and student tours. Their catchphrase "Have you got a WKD side?" was launched in 2000 and hit TV screens in 2001. The TV adverts feature men pulling pranks or behaving in a strange or selfish manner for the beverage.[4]

Along with several other alcopop or RTD producers, WKD were considered by the UK ASA to be using advertising likely to appeal to under-18s,[5] and some of their TV adverts were banned.

Sponsorship

WKD was a sponsor of the "WKD Shed Sports Show" which aired on Nuts TV, which had its own channel on Freeview and Sky but closed on 15 January 2009.

WKD has been a sponsor of the "WKD Nuts Football Awards" since this annual event began in 2006.[6]

References

External links

• Official website

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