The 16 to 24 age group knows what it wants, that includes new exotic flavours, and almost two thirds of teens say they like to try new drinks
THE consumer landscape and the way people live their lives is fundamentally changing and now is the time for the soft drinks category to evolve, declares John Campbell, commercial operations director at Britvic UK.
Campbell reckons the soft drinks category must adapt in order to maintain and grow in relevancy among consumers.
“At Britvic, we want to share our insights with customers and work together to identify new opportunities to grow the category, all by getting the nation to drink differently,” he said.
Valuing the soft drinks market at £14bn, Britvic has identified five ways the category could be grown and says these could unlock £2.6bn worth of sales.
As well as creating drinks specifically for kids and others for adults, the Britvic plan includes nudging the nation towards positive drinks choices and highlighting soft drink partnerships for meal times.
The most recent Britvic Soft Drinks Review revealed that in 2017, nearly 50% of all Generation Z shoppers, aged 16 to 24, bought a soft drink when visiting a convenience store.
Commercial director for convenience and impulse, Trystan Farnworth, said: “Younger shoppers are increasingly turning to their local convenience stores and purchasing on the go.”
Senior customer marketing manager at Vimto, Ed Jones, agreed that health is an important factor in consumers’ drinks choices, however taste remains at the forefront and he pointed out that there is a growing appetite for more exotic flavours with 61% of teens saying they like to try new flavours.
He said: “Our portfolio is built around taste. Our Vimto Remix sub-brand is now available in a third, unique flavour mix which is a true original for the market: Watermelon, Strawberry and Peach.”
It’s not just new flavours that are enjoying growth in soft drinks. Referring to IRI Marketplace data, Boost energy drinks said sales of energy, protein and sports drinks are all in growth.
And a spokesperson said one of the surest ways retailers can get their share of that growing market is by using price-marked packs.
The spokesperson said: “We know that consumers want easy access to chilled drinks, and price-marked products play a huge role when customers are making those fast, impulse decisions.
“Stocking a variety of price-marked soft drink options, particularly in chillers near the tills, will increase basket spend by giving the customer quick, key pricing information at the crucial decision-making point.”
