STRATEGY: Seeing Opportunities in Single-Serve, Apple & Eve Looks to DSD for 12-Oz Fruitables Line    Apple & Eve, 35-yr-old regional juice player in Northeast that’s increasingly visible on national stage, is launching single-serve version of its popular Fruitables fruit/veggie line, apparently as part of broader push to tap into opportunities offered outside its traditional grocery and club store bastions.  New line in 12-oz full-wrap PET bottles is launching in NY footprint of DSD house Big Geyser, with plans to push out into rest of Northeast via DSD, said Andrea Bass, category mgr for kids’ brands.  Line launches in Tropical Orange and Berry Berry flavors.  Package graphics sport fruit-floating-in-front-of-clouds motif familiar from multiserve bottle launched about a year earlier for grocery.  DSD effort is being handled by former Snapple hand Bill Harrison, serving as vp sales for single-serve at Roslyn, NY, marketer.  Andrea said co sees opportunity to build on modest single-serve footprint established by items like apple juice and Fizz Ed sparkling juice, with Fruitables being likeliest prospect because it’s most differentiated product.

Nice Run So Far for Fruitables   Apple & Eve has had good ride on Fruitables so far, launching it as mainstream rival to Campbell Soup’s V8 Fusion line and moving it into such major chains as Walmart, Publix, Kroger – many far afield from its Northeast regional base – as well as club stores BJ’s and Costco.  So far line has been available in 8-packs of 6.75-oz aseptic boxes in grocers and 27-unit versions at club stores.  Younger-skewing Sesame Street-branded Fruitables are out in 36-count packs of 4.23-oz aseptic boxes in slightly different flavor range.  Both lines also are available in 46-oz multiserve PET bottles with full-wrap labels.  They’re blends of juices, carrots and other veggies and purified water that boast lower sugar content and nutrition equivalent to serving of fruits/veggies.  Kids’ bevs chief Andrea Bass said IRI panel data indicates line has exceptionally high repeat purchase rate but said multiserve bottle has been slower build, lost on expansive juice section against broader range of competitors that include Motts Medleys and Ocean Spray offering.  To support brand, co has tied in with arts support, and currently is reprising last year’s tie to Glee with Facebook-based search for best musical mashup, with Glee’s Cory Monteith as celeb judge.  Winner gets $10K for school’s music program.  Those who “like” brand on FB generate $1 donation to VH1 Save the Music Foundation; tally exceeds 7K so far.