Foster's to launch citrus-flavoured lager

The new owner of Foster’s lager in Europe wasted no time today in unveiling plans for the brand’s first major UK launch in more than 10 years.

Foster’s Twist, a citrus-flavoured lager, will go on sale following the World Cup and will be backed by a multi-million pound advertising campaign, brewer Scottish & Newcastle said.

The move comes just days after S&N paid £309m (€447.4m) to Melbourne-based Foster’s for the trademark throughout Europe, the Russian Federation and Turkey. It had brewed Foster’s under licence for more than a decade.

S&N chief executive Tony Froggatt said: “Under the licence, we were forced to have their approval if there were any changes in the brand or technology.

“That now all gets swept away, and we will have much more flexibility and speed to drive new ideas and concepts.”

The last big launch of a Foster’s product in the UK was Foster’s Ice more than a decade ago.

Nearly four in every five pints of Foster’s pulled outside of its native Australia are sold to UK drinkers, although sales growth is currently fastest in continental Europe and Russia.

Foster’s has carved out a fan base among pub-goers in Britain through advertising including the Don’t Lose Your Head campaign.

S&N, which owns brands such as John Smith’s and Kronenbourg, is currently responsible for around 82% of the total worldwide sales of Foster’s by volume.