LINDA. launches a beer. The brand does this to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The beer is special for LINDA. brewed by Grolsch. The editors and readers tasted the development of the special beer, called: Brut Blond. LINDA. is not the first media brand with its own drink.
LINDA.’s fresh and fruity light blond beer has aromas of kiwi and grapes and can be ordered in advance via the Grolsch webshop. From 1 May, the beer will be available at major supermarkets in a package containing two sturdy swing-top bottles and two matching glasses. The beer is available temporarily and in a limited edition.
Chantal’s coffee cups
Is it unique for a media brand to market a drink? No. &C, Chantal Janzen’s media brand, launched its own brand of coffee cups almost a year ago, in collaboration with flash delivery company Flink. Together &C and Flink launched Premium Coffee Cups in three flavours: Lungo Light, Lungo Strong and Espresso. They can be ordered both in the &C webshop and on the Flink site.
Marco Geeratz, the husband of, says he is very satisfied with the collaboration. In fact, the range has recently been expanded to include coffee beans, chocolate, fruit juices and shots. Does it yield much? No. Not that. Geeratz: “It is of course a limited business model because we do this exclusively with Flink and they only have limited coverage in the Netherlands. However, they are often located in the places where our target group is also located.”
Bicycling beer
In September 2021, cycling magazine Bicycling already launched its own beer. According to Rens Muller, former managing editor of Bicycling, the idea to brew your own beer arose in the search for the ideal beer after a long bike ride. It became an IPA. Bicycling also used a test panel of regular readers in the development of the special beer. The Bycicling IPA was launched at a reader event and is brewed in a limited edition. 400 liters were made, about 1200 bottles. A success? “Yes, definitely,” says Muller. “And the beer was sold out in no time, via our own webshop.”
Delicious tea and jam
Incidentally, an own launch is not always successful. The culinary magazine delicious launched a collection of teas, coffees and jams in 2016, all developed in close collaboration with the editors and composed of premium ingredients to meet the high demands of delicious readers. From 2018, the products were available at Albert Heijn, Sligro and Hudson Bay. Nevertheless, sales were so disappointing that the delicious.food product line was discontinued that same year. The reason: too much competition from premium jam, tea and coffee brands. The editors have focused on other line & brand extensions, such as e-learning and cookbooks.