Spirit brand Willow has reformulated its core bottle to contain cannabidiol (CBD) and less alcohol (0.5% abv), in a move to target a wider group of adult drinkers.
Willow’s apple spirit (rrp £16 / 70cl) now features an infusion of 15 mg broad spectrum CBD, mixed with English strawberry juice.
Original ingredients, such as pineapple, kaffir lime, cracked black pepper and cherry tomatoes, remain but the mix is now diluted down using natural spring water from the Lake District. The spirit previously featured an abv of 4.4%.
William Borrell, of Ladies & Gentlemen bars (Willow brand owner), claimed that the inclusion of CBD and a lower alcohol content in Willow could ‘game change’ the no and low-alcohol category for retailers.
“Dropping the abv makes commercial sense; it’s what consumers want,” he said. “However, we’re less about being evangelical and more about taking a distinctively laid-back and recreational approach to no / low - hence the CBD.
”There’s little or no point in trying to be preachy - people just want to chill out and enjoy an adult drink. By tapping into the benefits of the world’s most famous functional plant, Willow enables them to do just that.”
