SCOTLAND’S juice and juice drinks fans remain among the most likely in Britain to buy branded products and brands still account for the majority of juice sales but the juice brands are under significant pressure from own-label products.
Retail research specialist Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 52 weeks to 4 January this year showed the GB take-home juices category was worth £1.9bn. But that meant sales had declined by 4.4% over the 12 months. Decline could be seen in sales of both chilled and ambient juices, Kantar Worldpanel business unit director Mark Thomson told Scottish Grocer.
However, he explained, fruit squash is going against the trend with sales growth of 2% in Scotland and 0.8% across GB.
Average spend by Scottish shoppers on the juice and juice drinks category is £73.16. That’s a bit less than the average across GB shoppers, which is £75.96.
Sales decline in the category is occurring on both branded and private-label products across GB.
In Scotland, Thomson said, branded products are down 4.4% while private-label lines declined by 1.5% over the year.
However private-label lines of chilled fruit juice increased sales by 0.6% and in fruit squash private label sales grew 5.5% while branded products were in decline.
Overall, branded products still account for 54% of category spend in Scotland, compared to 52.9% across GB. Scots shoppers spend more on branded products versus the average GB shopper on ambient juice drinks – Scottish purchasers spend £13.47 which is £1 more than the GB average.
