Whisky heiress takes shot at soft drinks

WHISKY heiress Tara Macdonald, whose family sold Glenmorangie for £300m, has launched her own soft drinks range aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds.

The youngest daughter of former Glenmorangie chairman David Macdonald has created a line of carbonated fruit juices called Suso.

The juices, which purport to contain one of the Government's suggested five-a-day portions of fruit or vegetables, have been developed along with Harry Drnec, former managing director of Red Bull in the UK.

They are currently being tested in Tesco Express stores, as well as selected branches of Superdrug and Woolworths, ahead of a £4m national advertising campaign this summer.

Macdonald is aiming the 100% carbonated fruit juices at young people who like fizzy drinks, but who want to drink something slightly healthier than the usual sugar-laced brands. She said: "It's better for you and it doesn't have any nasties in it so it's a definite choice (for those kinds of people]."

Macdonald and Drnec have secured £4m of investment from the private equity firm Smedvig Capital for the venture, which they hope to expand abroad.

Macdonald believes the brand could be easily transported to cultures where there is high consumption of fizzy drinks, but where people are becoming increasing health conscious.

"There are ambitions to go abroad. Obvious places that spring to mind are America and places like California where they are still very interested in the 'better for you' drinks category."

However, she added that the fledgling company is unlikely to embark on foreign expansion for another two to three years. "We want to get our feet very firmly planted in Britain first and make sure we're doing really well here before we go abroad."

The company also hopes to sell the drinks in bars around the country as pub chains try to target more families and customers who don't want alcohol.

Macdonald's family, the Macdonalds of Tain, pocketed £105m when they sold Glenmorangie to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy for £300m in 2004.