Chilled drinks from Arla enjoy rising popularity
ICED coffee drinks have become a hot option for consumers these last few years.
According to Nielsen data, ready-to-drink (RTD) chilled coffee is now worth £280million in retail market sales, making it a clear winner for many shoppers who have seen the value and convenience of these options for their daily lives.
And Starbucks has been a leading player in this category. With a brand worth £145million, according to Kantar and Nielsen research, its clear the strength of the Starbucks name has been a winning option with plenty of shoppers.
Adam Hacking, head of beverages at Arla – the parent company behind the Starbucks chilled coffee range – reckons that part of this success can be put down to the flavours on offer.
Hacking said: “Consumers are buying into the category primarily for taste and this is reflected in our ethos for flavour quality and innovation.
“In terms of flavours, across the RTD chilled coffee category, we have seen sweet flavours continue to grow in popularity, with Chocolate and Caramel being the fastest-growing flavours.
“Caramel has grown by 30% and Chocolate (and Mocha) products have grown nearly 70%.”
It should come as no surprise, then, that Starbucks has been making the most out of these two flavours, with them present across a range of options, including its Frappuccino and Protein Drink ranges.
Both of these also tap into a rising demand for health and wellbeing, too, says Hacking, with the added health benefit of 20g of protein in every Starbucks Protein Drink appealing to avid gym-goers, as well as the new No Added Sugar Caramel Frappuccino variant.
Hacking said: “As part of the health trend and desire for product functionality, in June we launched Starbucks Protein Drink with Coffee, our debut protein drink as part of our RTD range.
“Offering the delicious flavour you’d expect from the UK’s number one RTD chilled coffee brand, with the added benefit of being a convenient, high-protein beverage, the innovation can be enjoyed on-the-go to support active lifestyles.
“Created with an active lifestyle in mind, the Starbucks Protein Drink with Coffee is designed to be enjoyed, whenever consumers need it.”
