Harrods picks Lilo as sole hard seltzer brand

by Melita Kiely

Luxury department store Harrods has listed Lilo as its one and only hard seltzer brand.

Lilo Hard Seltzer has made its debut in the Harrods Food Hall, offering customers a choice of two flavours: Lilo White Grape & Elderflower, and Lilo Cranberry & Rosehip. The white grape and elderflower expression is crafted using botanical distillate made with lemon verbena and orange peel to complement the ‘all natural’ flavours of white grape and elderflower. Meanwhile, the cranberry and rosehip variant uses a botanical spirit made with grains of paradise, said to give spicy, pepper aromas, and ginger to enhance the ‘tart’ cranberry and ‘tangy’ rosehip. Nick Fleming, Harrods buyer, said: “At Harrods, we want to provide our customers with confidence that they have access to some of the best products in the world. “It is with this ethos in mind that led us to select Lilo as our sole representation in the hard seltzer category. “The synergies are demonstrated through their taste awards, premium pack design, use of pure Scottish water and their unique botanical spirits, distilled to perfectly pair each natural flavour.” Both flavours are available in the Harrods Food Hall in London, UK, priced at RRP £2.50 (US$3.50) per single can. Lilo is also available in packs of 12 cans, either as a single flavour or mixed assortment, from harrods.com, priced at RRP £26 (US$36). Each expression has an ABV of 3.5%, contains 50 calories, and has 0g of sugar. Hannah Fisher, co-founder of The Alcoholic Water Company, creator of Lilo Hard Seltzer, said: “We wanted Lilo Hard Seltzer to be lighter in calories and lower in alcohol, but the taste remains equally important to us, so Lilo uses only natural ingredients, with purest sparkling Scottish water and with our uniquely distilled botanical sprits, we have crafted a hard seltzer that does not compromise on flavour and taste. “The listing is the icing on the cake and comes hot on the heels of Lilo Hard Seltzer winning Master and Gold awards in The Hard Seltzer Masters, which is part of The Spirits Business’ Global Spirits Masters blind-tasting series.” Earlier this month, we shared some of the top award-winning hard seltzers from our recent blind tasting. A number of brands have jumped on the hard seltzer trend, as well as singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding, who acquired a 'significant' share in Served Hard Seltzer earlier this month. The brand also named former Artesian bar manager Anna Sebastian as its head of brand. In May, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis said the hard seltzer category would “far surpass” an initial forecast of 281 million case sales in the US by 2023. The category is now expected to smash the prediction this year.