WITH the Covid pandemic still fresh in people’s memories, health and wellbeing continues to play a part in shoppers’ choices.
Suntory Beverage & Food reported that 25% of shoppers are now more influenced by health than they had been before the pandemic and that at least a third of shoppers want to reduce sugar in their diet.
Channel director for wholesale at Suntory, Matt Gouldsmith, said: “We’ve seen how this ever-growing trend has helped drive sales in the soft drinks category, with sugar-free carbonates growing over 5% in the last year.”
“To this end,” he continued, “we launched Ribena Sparkling Zero Sugar in September to help retailers meet this growing demand for zero-sugar choices, particularly among health-conscious younger shoppers.”
Gouldsmith went on to explain that the Ribena Sparkling range has added over £11m to the flavoured carbonates segment since its launch in 2020.”
Looking at other recent launches from the group, Gouldsmith said that Lucozade Alert had brought a new flavour to shelves in 2022 with the addition of Lucozade Alert Original.
“Building on the success of the launch of its Tropical Burst and Cherry Blast flavours, Original is the latest addition to the Lucozade Alert range, which generated £1m in sales in under two months through wholesale and convenience stores,” Gouldsmith said.
He added: “New flavours are important to provide different options for shoppers in this growing category.”
Suntory is also predicting a rise in the Big Night In occasion as consumers deal with the rise in the cost of living and look for value.
Gouldsmith said: “As the nation continues to navigate the ongoing economic pressures, price-marked packs will become even more important.”
