Soft drink sales tops £10b, says report
The Britvic Soft Drinks Review has shown that soft drinks sales have topped £10b for the first time and that soft drinks remain the third largest segment in the leisure channel with value sales of more than £2.8b.
The research, conducted with Nielsen and CGA, also revealed that Britvic remains the number one supplier in the leisure channel for soft drinks, largely driven by the success of Pepsi. Draught sales accounted for more than half of all soft drink sales and carbonates remained the most popular type of soft drink, with a 77% share and value sales of more than £2.2b.
Value for money continued to be a core purchase driver, with consumers looking towards casual dining restaurants and pubs for guaranteed quality and value. Food-led outlets dominated the soft drinks market, with sales growing by 4% and reaching more than £2b, supporting the casual dining trend.
Paul Graham, general manager at Britvic Soft Drinks, said: "Although remaining flat, the leisure channel proved its resilience, with soft drinks faring better than other segments and holding on to their position as the third-biggest category in fast-moving consumer goods after beer and wine.
"Shaped by multiple consumer trends, such as value, ‘premiumisation' and quality, we have seen a wealth of innovation hit the market, all of which has helped to keep the sector relevant and exciting among a diverse audience. We are confident that the overall successful performance of soft drinks and the continued evolution of the category is paving the way for a positive and exciting future."
Claire Handford-Jones, director of category at Britvic Soft Drinks explained that the company had a new roadmap for the future in a plan to unlock an incremental £2.4b of category growth by 2020 by considering the needs of soft drinks consumers at each consumption occasion and purchase mission.
Handford-Jones explained: "At Britvic we pride ourselves on being committed to growing the soft drinks category and are delighted to be able to reveal our vision for growth. The growth experienced in recent years is testament to the resilience of the category, however, it is a mature category and we recognise that in order to unlock these opportunities we must engage with more consumers, on more occasions and in more environments.
"Our goal is to continue to work in partnership with customers to create solutions that change shopper and consumer behaviours through better meeting needs and inspiring at point of purchase. By doing this, we believe the category is in a great position to unlock incremental sales of £2.4b by 2020 and look forward to working with our customers to capitalise on this huge and exciting growth opportunity."
