Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Products covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Total soft drink sales increased by 4% in 2016
- Bottled water sees strong growth
- Carbonated soft drinks boosted by L/N/R sugar variants
- Slowdown in sports and energy drinks
- Brexit decision leads to fall in value of the Pound
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy set to be introduced in April 2018
- Push to improve health of UK population
- Real incomes coming under pressure again
- Companies and brands
- Coca-Cola maintains big lead over Pepsi
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- Figure 1: Leading brands’ shares in the UK retail soft drinks market, by value, 2016/17*
- Juice-based drinks see the most product launches
- Big focus on new recipes to cut sugar
- Focus on refreshment and hydration properties
- More adult soft drinks and blurring of category boundaries
- Increase in advertising spending on soft drinks
- Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for over half of advertising
- Robinsons most trusted soft drinks brand
- Innocent seen as most innovative brand
- The consumer
- Almost universal drinking of soft drinks
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- Figure 2: Usage of different types of soft drink and tap water in the last 6 months, April 2017
- Squash and bottled water drunk most frequently
- A quarter of fruit juice drinkers drink it once a day
- Strong loyalty to one or a few favourite soft drinks
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- Figure 3: Loyalty to favourite soft drinks when drinking soft drinks at home or at restaurants/pubs/bars, April 2017
- At-home drinks are more about hydration and health
- Traditional flavours have the strongest appeal
- Going well with meals most important in on-trade
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- Figure 4: What people look for in a soft drink when drinking a soft drink at home and in a restaurant/pub/bar, April 2017
- Strong demand for wider choice of soft drinks in the on-trade
- More prompts needed in restaurants and pubs/bars
- Focusing on taste key to success for premium soft drinks
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- Figure 5: Behaviours and attitudes in relation to soft drinks, April 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Scope for range development along with more prompts in the on-trade
- The facts
- The implications
- Importance of different aspects of soft drinks varies by occasion
- The facts
- The implications
- Soft drinks need a clear taste difference to justify a premium price
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Total soft drink sales increased by 4% in 2016
- Bottled water sees strong growth
- Fruit juice hit by sugar concerns
- Carbonated soft drinks boosted by L/N/R sugar variants
- Slowdown in sports and energy drinks
- Downward trend in cordials and squashes continues
- Brexit decision leads to fall in value of the Pound
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy set to be introduced in April 2018
- Push to improve health of UK population
- Real incomes coming under pressure again
Market Size and Segmentation
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- Total soft drink sales increased by 4% in 2016
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- Figure 6: Total UK value sales of soft drinks, by segment, 2011-21
- Bottled water growth continues
- Value growth for juice-based drinks but volumes down
- Carbonated soft drinks boosted by L/N/R sugar variants
- Slowdown in sports and energy drinks
- Downward sales trend for cordials and squashes
Market Drivers
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- Brexit decision leads to fall in value of the Pound
- Soft Drinks Industry Levy set to be introduced in April 2018
- Push to improve the health of UK population
- Changing population dynamics provide an opportunity and challenge
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- Figure 7: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2011-21
- Real incomes set to come under pressure again
- Drinking of tap water influences soft drink sales
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Coca-Cola maintains big lead over Pepsi
- Juice-based drinks see the most product launches
- Big focus on new recipes to cut sugar
- Focus on refreshment and hydration properties
- More adult soft drinks and blurring of category boundaries
- Increase in advertising spending on soft drinks
- Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for over half of advertising
- Robinsons most trusted soft drinks brand
- Innocent seen as most innovative brand
Market Share
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- Coca-Cola maintains big lead over Pepsi
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- Figure 8: Leading brands’ sales in the retail soft drinks market, by value, 2015/16 and 2016/17
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- Figure 9: Leading brand-owner sales in the retail soft drinks market, by value, 2015/16 and 2016/17
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Juice-based drinks see the most product launches
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- Figure 10: New product launches in the UK soft drinks market, share by sub-category, January 2012-April 2017
- Branded products dominate new launch activity
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- Figure 11: New product launches in the UK soft drinks market, share of branded vs own-label, January 2012-April 2017
- Big focus on new recipes to cut sugar
- Zero-sugar variants being added in energy drinks
- No-added-sugar juice drinks look to avoid sugar levy
- Reformulations in carbonated drinks and flavoured waters
- Focusing on refreshment and hydration qualities
- Packaging innovation looks to increase standout
- Limited edition products
- More visually appealing packaging
- New packaging offers practical benefits
- Juices and smoothies focus on functional benefits
- Adult soft drinks target those cutting back on alcohol
- Soft drinks for wine lovers
- More sparkling drinks for grown-ups
- Established family brands target the adult market
- Blurring of category boundaries
- Appealing to those with less sweet tastes
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising spending on soft drinks increases
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- Figure 12: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on soft drinks, 2013-17
- Carbonated soft drinks take biggest share of advertising
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- Figure 13: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on soft drinks, by category, 2013-17
- Coca-Cola and PepsiCo account for over half of advertising
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- Figure 14: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on soft drinks, by advertiser, 2013-17
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar receives heaviest advertising support
- Pepsi continues to focus on Pepsi Max
- Energy drinks among most heavily supported brands
- Tropicana promotes healthy message for orange juice
- Juice drinks shift focus to no-added-sugar variants
- Innocent puts a bigger focus on ingredients other than fruit
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- Figure 15: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on soft drinks, top 30 by advertiser and brand, 2016
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
Brand Research
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- Brand map
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- Figure 16: Attitudes towards and usage of selected soft drinks brands, December 2015-April 2017
- Key brand metrics
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- Figure 17: Key metrics for selected soft drinks brands, December 2015-April 2017
- Brand attitudes: Robinsons has the best reputation
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- Figure 18: Attitudes, by brand, December 2015-April 2017
- Brand personality: Innocent seen as most ethical brand
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- Figure 19: Brand personality – Macro image, December 2015-April 2017
- Coca-Cola stands for authenticity
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- Figure 20: Brand personality – Micro image, December 2015-April 2017
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Almost universal drinking of soft drinks
- Squash and bottled water drunk most frequently
- A quarter of fruit juice drinkers drink it once a day
- Strong loyalty to a favourite or a few soft drinks
- At-home drinks are more about hydration and health
- Traditional flavours have the strongest appeal
- Going well with meals most important in on-trade
- Strong demand for wider choice of soft drinks in the on-trade
- More prompts needed in restaurants and pubs/bars
- Focusing on taste key to the success for premium soft drinks
Usage and Where People Drink Different Types of Soft Drinks
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- Drinking of soft drinks almost universal
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- Figure 21: Usage of different types of soft drink and tap water in the last 6 months, April 2017
- Squash/cordials has biggest bias to in-home drinking
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- Figure 22: Usage of different types of soft drinks and tap water in the last 6 months, by location, April 2017
- Bottled water most popular on-the-go option
- Fruit juice drunk by seven in 10 people
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- Figure 23: 100% fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies usage at home, by age, April 2017
- Carbonated soft drinks top choice in pubs and restaurants
- Out-of-home consumption important for sports and energy drinks
- Room for restaurants and pubs/bars to encourage uptake of soft drinks
Frequency of Drinking Different Soft Drinks
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- Squash and bottled water drunk most frequently
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- Figure 24: Frequency of drinking different types of soft drinks and tap water, April 2017
- A quarter of drinkers of fruit juice drink it once a day
- Diet carbonated drinks drunk more often than non-diet versions
Loyalty to Favourite Soft Drinks
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- Strong loyalty to a favourite or a few soft drinks at home
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- Figure 25: Loyalty to favourite soft drinks when drinking soft drinks at home or at restaurants/pubs/bars, April 2017
- Out-of-home drinking habits also firmly established
What People Look for in a Soft Drink
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- At-home drinks are more about hydration and health
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- Figure 26: What people look for in a soft drink when drinking a soft drink at home and in a restaurant/pub/bar, April 2017
- Traditional flavours have the strongest appeal
- Going well with meals most important in on-trade
Behaviours and Attitudes in Relation to Soft Drinks
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- Strong demand for wider choice of soft drinks in the on-trade
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- Figure 27: Behaviours and attitudes in relation to soft drinks, April 2017
- Interest peaks among 16-34s
- More prompts needed in restaurants and pubs/bars
- Focusing on taste key to the success for premium soft drinks
- Strong preference for drinks with all-natural ingredients
Amount Drinkers are Prepared to Pay for Soft Drinks in On-trade
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- Lack of willingness to pay more than £3 for soft drinks
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- Figure 28: The most people are prepared to pay for a soft drink at a restaurant/pub/bar, April 2017
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Figure 29: New product launches in the UK soft drinks market, by flavour component group, January 2012-April 2017
- Figure 30: New product launches in the UK soft drinks market, by claim, January 2012-April 2017
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