UK beverages group AG Barr intends to scrap bottled water brand Strathmore.
The brand is to be discontinued later in its 2025/26 financial year
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In a statement to Just Drinks, an AG Barr spokesperson said the brand had “struggled to compete” in recent years.
They noted the move to cease producing Strathmore could result in the closure of its manufacturing site in Forfar in Scotland, putting 23 jobs at risk.
“We believe we have now reached a point where the Forfar site is no longer sustainable,” the spokesperson said.
They added: “The proposals are subject to consultation, and we intend to fully support our employees through this period of change.”
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By GlobalDataThe move was announced alongside the release of AG Barr’s latest results for its 2024/25 fiscal year, which ended on 25 January.
AG Barr, which produces the drinks brands Irn-Bru, Rubicon, Boost and Funkin, said “current trading is in line with our expectations” and kept its annual outlook for the financial year 2025/26 “unchanged”, forecasting continued revenue growth and margin improvement.
The scrapping of the Strathmore brand follows an “organisational simplification” of the business which the company said was announced to staff in February. The move sees the integration of Barr Soft Drinks and the Funkin cocktails businesses into a “unified AG Barr operation, streamlining activities and fostering synergies”.
In March last year, the business announced a round of redundancies affecting 160 roles as part of a shift from a direct-to-store delivery model to “an enlarged and enhanced field sales operation”.
Around the same time, AG Barr also revealed plans to “fully integrate” its Boost Drinks subsidiary into the Barr Soft Drinks division to remove “duplicated activities”.
In its full-year fiscal period, AG Barr’s revenue rose by 5.1% to £420.4m ($544.5m), driven by “strong” performance in its soft drinks segment, particularly a “standout performance” from Rubicon and “continued strong growth” from Irn-Bru.
The business also reported a 6.5% increase in gross profit, at £164.3m, while operating profit was up 3.2% year on year to £51.7m. Profit before tax grew 3.7% to £53.2m.
Commenting on the company’s results, AG Barr’s newly appointed CEO Euan Sutherland, said: “Looking forward, we have a refreshed strategy centred on growth and are committed to our long-term financial targets. I am confident that successful execution of our plans will see another year of positive progress towards our long-term goals.”
