Disney pulls Frozen 'Champagne-style' juice drink after alcohol campaigners voice fears

Campaigners said that the product marketed alcohol to children

Hazel Sheffield
Thursday 31 December 2015 12:26 GMT
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Disney said it has high standards for products bearing Disney name and characters
Disney said it has high standards for products bearing Disney name and characters

Disney has pulled a Frozen branded "Champagne-style" juice drink for kids after fears from alcohol campaigners that the product could encourage underage children to drink.

The non-alcoholic drink was onsale at UK bargains website Home Bargains until recently, advertised as "a grown up alternative to juice and pop at parties".

"The Disney Frozen Non-Alcoholic Party Drink is a delicious sparkling white grape fruit drink which would be perfect at birthdays, family events, BBQs or after a long day building snowmen with Olaf.

"With a champagne style cork pop, your little one is sure to feel part of every celebration," the listing read. It has now been pulled.

A spokeperson from Home Bargains said that the listing was pulled because Disney stopped making the product.

The Home Bargains listing has since been removed

Joe Morris, operations director at Home Bargains, said: “The Frozen party drink is clearly labelled as a non-alcoholic soft drink. We’re committed to ensuring that our alcoholic products are not sold to underage drinkers. All staff members are trained to request ID from any customer attempting to buy alcohol that looks under the age of 21.’’

But alcohol campaigners said that the product marketed alcohol to children.

Too often alcohol is sold as if it was a normal commodity and alcohol-like products are used to entice people into the world of alcohol,” Jackie Ballard, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, told Mashable.

“This is particularly worrying when products are aimed at children, who we believe should be entitled to an alcohol-free childhood, away from the marketing pressures faced daily by adults.”

A Disney spokesperson said: “As we set very high standards for the quality of products bearing the Disney name and characters, we have informed the manufacturer that we will no longer license Disney images to a product that is packaged to look like alcohol.”

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