Cola, water and glucose drinks stimulating market, says Britvic report

cokeThe soft drinks industry is bubbling with excitement after proving its resilience in a tough economic climate.

According to the newly published Britvic Soft Drinks Review, soft drinks generated value sales of more than £7.2 billion (€8.5bn) in the grocery, convenience and impulse categories

“The soft drinks category is growing ever closer to becoming a £10 billion (€11.7bn) total market category,” says Paul Graham, customer management director at Britvic. “Sales in grocery, convenience and impulse grew at a steady 2.8 per cent in value last year, driven largely by the ongoing popularity of cola, as well as the recovery of plain water and rising success of glucose stimulant drinks.”

The Britvic report reveals that although consumers continued their cautious spending habits last year, soft drinks remained one of the most popular categories, faring considerably better than the declines seen in many other FMCG categories.

Grocery multiples accounted for over three quarters of soft drink sales in value terms, benefiting from a wider range of brands and formats, innovation and promotional platforms.

Also, consumers continued to choose the big brands that they knew and trusted over own label, seeing them as ‘affordable treats’ that make in-home social occasions even more enjoyable.

“Even with consumers facing the continued challenges of an uncertain economy, the increased demand for affordable treats and the popularity of ‘big nights in’ with friends and family has meant that soft drinks performed well in 2012,” adds Graham. “Consumers opted to make stay-at-home occasions more special, with affordable brand indulgences winning out over own label brands.

“The Pepsi brand, led by Pepsi MAX, successfully capitalised on this trend by linking deals with snacks for bespoke ‘big night in’ displays in-store, while consumers’ desire for premium products as a means of recreating pub and club experiences at home helped boost sales of adult soft drinks like J2O.”

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