As temperatures rise in summer months, retailers must be prepared for an increase in demand for chilled soft drinks including sports and energy products, argues Georgina Thomas, category director at Lucozade Ribena Suntory. For while many people might associate summer with especially strong sales of refreshment lines it can also have a significant effect on sales of energy and sports brands.
Quoting Nielsen research, Thomas said above 20C incremental sales can be expected across the top five sectors: water, likely to go up 34%; carbonates, up 22%; juices, plus 20%; sports and energy, +18%; and cola, up 15%.
Any summer boost will build on existing substantial growth on many of the firm’s products, she said.
Core lines like Lucozade Sport Orange is said to be growing currently at 5.5%. But exotic flavours are also doing remarkably well Lucozade Sport Caribbean Burst is quoted as up 12.3% and Lucozade Energy Caribbean Crush is up a huge 161.2% in grocery outlets.
“We are confident that the sports and energy category will continue to grow over the next year. In addition to our recent launch of Lucozade Energy Grafruitti and Lucozade Sport Mango & Passion Fruit, we have more NPD and activity planned for the category. People want to try new things, so innovation is key,” she said.
Lucozade Ribena Suntory’s merchandising and promotional tips for sports and energy drinks retailing include:
• Allocate the right amount of space to the right range.
• Use brand beaconing and best-sellers’ branded PoS.
• Get behind category enhancing NPD.
• Drive growth through a balance of price and volume.
• Execute promotions with excellence – 100% stock availability, clearly communicated price/promo mechanics, executing one offer at a time across the category, tailoring offer by format.
• Support big events andseasonal occasions, taking full advantage of events by cross-merchandising and creating stand-alone displays, which will encourage shoppers to buy on impulse in adjacent categories.
