Milk Link thinks pink with new Charlie and Lola line

Milk Link has today announced the launch of its new Charlie and Lola Pink Milk. Produced under licence with BBC Worldwide, the product will be available in 200 Sainsburys stores from 11^th August, with over 370 Morrisons stores following shortly after.

With obvious appeal for fans of Charlie and Lola, the new strawberry flavoured milk drink is aimed at children from two to eight years as a healthy alternative to carbonated drinks. After the successful launch of the books in 2000, the brand has been transformed by the hugely popular television series made for CBeebies by Tiger Aspect. The series has gone on to win numerous awards and accolades, including four childrens BAFTAs.

Charlie and Lola Pink Milk, part of Milk Links successful Moo range of milks, uses only natural ingredients and semi skimmed milk, making it perfect for the whole family. With its distinctive Charlie and Lola cartons, the product is both a fun and delicious way to encourage children to get their recommended daily intake of calcium.

Supported by a six figure marketing spend including press, online and in store campaigns, the Pink Milk is part of Milk Links strategy of securing premier licences for key market segments. Other key licences include Flora pro.activ, Mars and Galaxy extended shelf life (ESL) milk drink ranges.

Positioned in the chiller alongside fresh milk, the product is available in family size one litre cartons.

Hamish Renton, Marketing Director at Milk Link, commented, We are delighted to be working with BBC Worldwide on this project – its exciting to be taking such a premier young childrens licence into the dairy drinks market. We are always looking for new ways to enhance the Moo brand, and we believe our strawberry flavoured milk is a fantastic fit with the characters in the show – after all, as every fan of the show will know Lola loves Pink Milk!

The Moo brand was launched in 2004 in response to increasing trends for healthy eating and tasty dairy products – a naturally good source of calcium, protein, riboflavin and vitamin B12. The Moo range includes: whole, semi-skimmed, skimmed, one%, organic, flavoured and Mini Moo drinks.

About Milk Link

• Milk Link is one of the UKs leading integrated dairy businesses, owned 100% by British dairy farmers. It manufactures a complete portfolio of dairy products including cheese, long life milk, creams, flavoured milks, and milk powders supplying most major multiples and the food service sector.
• Milk Link exists to provide long-term security for its dairy farmer Members.
• Milk Link is the largest cheese producer in the UK supplying Cheddar, Stilton and British regional cheeses to the retail, food service and ingredients sectors.  It employs over 1,000 people at six cheese and dairy processing facilities at its Taw Valley Creamery, Devon; Tuxford & Tebbutt Creamery, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire; Reeces Creamery, Malpas, Cheshire; Llandyrnog Creamery, North Wales; and Lockerbie Creamery, South West Scotland, plus a large, modern consumer packing facility in Oswestry, Shropshire.
• Milk Link has a number of leading dairy brands including Tickler Extra Mature Cheddar, Moo organic, Lockerbie and Cadog and other brands under licence: Flora Pro Activ milk and Mars flavoured milk drinks.

About BBC Worldwide

BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The company exists to maximise the value of the BBCs assets for the benefit of the licence fee payer and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has six core businesses: Channels, Content & Production, Sales & Distribution, BBC Magazines, Home Entertainment and Global Brands. In 2009/10, BBC Worldwide generated profits of 145 million (operating profit before specific items) on sales of 1074 million (including Group revenue and the Groups share of joint-ventures revenue).

BBC Worldwide was awarded with the Queens Award for Enterprise in April 2009. This prestigious award for International Trade recognised the companys substantial growth in overseas earnings and its commercial success at outstanding levels, based on 3 years trading results, which benefit the UK creative industries and ultimately the licence fee payer.

For more information please visit www.bbcworldwide.com

About Tiger Aspect Productions

Tiger Aspect Productions is internationally recognised as one of the UK’s most successful and prolific independent television producers. The company portfolio includes animation, comedy, drama, entertainment and factual and features genres.

Tiger creates a wide range of critically acclaimed and award-winning programming for all the UK’s major terrestrial and non-terrestrial broadcasters.

Tiger’s production slate includes primetime mainstream successes for BBC1 and ITV such as Robin Hood (3 series), Murphy’s Law (4 series), The Vicar of Dibley, The Catherine Tate Show and Charlie and Lola (www.charlieandlola.com)