Soft drinks: generating sales opportunities

Soft drinks are worth more than £3.2bn annually to convenience retailers¹ – up 13.8% over the past year². Almost one-third (31%) of convenience retailers say soft drinks drive more footfall in their stores than any other category³, and 32% say soft drinks generate the most sales⁴.

In CCEP’s category vision, the company has identified the following opportunities for convenience retailers to grow soft drinks sales.

Energising break

A third of households buy energy drinks⁵, with innovation driving growth⁶. More than 55% of category innovation sales over the last year have come from Monster’s NPD⁷.

Zero-sugar energy drinks are growing by 25%⁸ and the Monster Ultra range is the No.1 zero sugar energy range in GB⁹. The new Monster Zero Sugar variant will also tap into this opportunity.

(Watch for more information)

Socialising at home

Stocking sharing packs of popular soft drinks like Coca-Cola, Fanta or Dr Pepper alongside popular snacks can help shoppers grab everything they need for a night in.

Drinks like Appletiser or Schweppes can provide a sophisticated alternative to alcohol or a mixer for sprits like gin or vodka.

Meal occasions

Three-quarters (74%) of shoppers want a drink as part of an evening meal deal¹⁰, so create displays that will encourage linked purchases.

More than a quarter (28%) of soft drink shoppers in convenience are on a food-to-go mission¹¹, so including single cans and bottles in chillers next to sandwiches can also drive incremental sales.

Delivering value

Consumers are increasingly conscious of their spending, with 81% shoppers taking a value-led attitude to shopping¹². Price-marked packs can give shoppers the perception of value¹³, and offer a point of difference versus larger stores.

Top tips to drive sales

● Right range – Use sales data to build a range of best-selling lines across each soft drink segment – e.g. cola, energy, flavoured carbonates. Give major brands like Coca-Cola, Fanta and Monster enough space to avoid out-of-stocks while also making space for new launches. It’s also important to strike the right balance between sharing and on-the-go formats.

● Right space – Consider which soft drink segments are going to drive sales when allocating space. For example, colas account for 21.8% of soft drinks sales¹⁴ so you should dedicate roughly a quarter of your chiller to cola including Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, the fastest growing major cola brand in GB by value¹⁵. Make sure you dedicate the right amount of space to rapidly-growing segments like energy drinks and ready-to-drink chilled coffee.

● Right layout – Shoppers look for major brands as a ‘signpost’ to the product they want, so use brands like Coca-Cola, Fanta, Monster, Schweppes and Costa Coffee RTD to help shoppers find what they want.

Stocking soft drinks alongside complementary categories – such as take-home packs with snacks for a big night in, or mixers alongside spirits brands – can also help shoppers pick everything they need up in one go and drive incremental sales.

Key products to stock 

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Coca-Cola – the No.1 soft drinks brand in GB [16], led by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, the fastest-growing major cola brand in GB by value [17]

Monster Energy – worth £547m [18] and adding almost £93m of sales [19] in GB retail over the last year alone

Fanta – the No.1 flavoured carbonate brand in GB [20] and in double-digit value and volume growth [21]

Costa Coffee RTD – the fastest-growing major brand in the rapidly-growing ready-to-drink chilled coffee segment [22], up 46% in value over the past year [23]

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Where to go

You can access category advice, details of our newest launches, POS materials and much more by visiting My.CCEP.com – where you can also add to your next wholesale order, and enter seasonal retailer promotions for the chance to win great prizes!

 Visit/register on My.CCEP.com for more guidance.

_{Sources
1 - 2 Nielsen Total Impulse, MAT val to w/e 17.06.23
3 - 4 Lumina Intelligence Retailer Attitudes and Behaviours Study, July 2023
5 Kantar, Energy household penetration 52 weeks to October 22
6 Nielsen Total Impulse, MAT val to w/e 17.06.23
7 Nielsen Total GB MAT val WE 17.06.23
8 Nielsen Total GB L13 Weeks 15.07.23
9 Nielsen Total GB incl. discounters, MAT val w/e 17.06.23
10 Lumina Intelligence, CTP 18.09.22
11 Lumina Intelligence, CTP 8we 09/01/2022
12 Lumina Intelligence Future of Convenience Whitepaper, May 2023
13 Lumina Intelligence data 52we to 08/01/23.
14 Nielsen Total Impulse, MAT val w/e 17.06.23
15 Nielsen Total GB MAT val w/e 17.06.23
16 - 17 Nielsen Total GB MAT val and vol w/e 17.06.23
18 - 20 Nielsen Total GB val MAT w/e 17.06.23
21 - 22 Nielsen Total Cov MAT w/e 17.06.23}