Hot dog brand Rollover (Slough, Berkshire) is branching out into the drinks market with a new range of fruit smoothies.

Its Pure Fruit collection features two flavours: pineapple and mango, and banana and raspberry. They are available in cases of 18 x 330ml bottles, or in catering packs comprising six 1-litre cartons.

“Unlike many other products in this category, our Pure Fruit Smoothies are ambient with a long shelf-life of 12 months and will not take up valuable space in cold stores. Rollover smoothies do not contain added sugars or sweeteners, preservatives, additives, stabilisers, thickeners or dairy products,” says Rollover’s sales director Christopher Pratt.

In 2004 the smoothie market was worth £70 million and market analyst Mintel estimates that it will double in size by 2008. Growing health concerns and government initiatives designed to encourage more positive attitudes to healthy eating will fuel the growth, says Rollover.

Mr Pratt says: “The beauty of smoothies is they can be sold as liquid refreshment or a fruit portion that works well with the drive to encourage consumers to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.”

The wholesale price of Pure Fruit Smoothies is 84p per 330ml bottle and the recommended retail price is between £1.70 and £2.29. For the one-litre cartons, for catering and foodservice, the price will be £1.85 per litre, equating to a 75ml serving at only 14p.