Irish drinks tax highlights importance of quality management
As Ireland considers a sugary drinks tax, drinks companies should stem losses at the manufacturing level by introducing quality management systems, says InfinityQS.
Senior sources within the Irish government have revealed that a sugar tax will be announced in next month’s budget, following similar moves in the UK.
This raises the likelihood that sugary drinks taxes could be introduced in other nations around the world, as the debate surrounding the health effects of sugary drinks gains momentum and health lobbyists intensify their campaigns against fizzy drinks. This will significantly impact sales and profitability at drinks companies, forcing them to find ways to stem losses.
Trends for fizzy drinks sales have all pointed downwards, with a 5% and 10% drop in sales in Europe and the UK in recent years. Whilst it has been suggested that the Irish sugary drink tax will only come into effect in 2018, around the same time as the tax in the UK, drinks companies are already under pressure and will be looking for ways to cut losses and make savings across their whole operations.
InfinityQS suggests that as these taxes eat into drinks companies’ profits, and correspondingly into those of packaging firms and raw materials suppliers, so it will become imperative for them to use quality management systems to drive down the costs of manufacturing and packaging.
