On 15^th May Carlsberg Britvic launched its annual soft drinks review, looking at how the category performed in 2024 and outlook for 2025.

At £21.1bn, the category was up by 2.2% compared to 2023, and outperforming beer. Within the convenience sector, soft drinks accounted for £186m worth of sales through the till.

Carlsberg completes Britvic acquisition

The review also revealed some interesting shopper trends and habits. Firstly, the average convenience store soft drinks shopper shopped frequently, had a bigger basket size and spent more per trip.

‘Food-to-go’, ‘top-up’, and ‘treat’ were identified as three top shopper missions that retailers could tap into to drive sales. In terms of top-performing sub-categories, stimulants, colas and flavoured carbonates reigned supreme, with single serve packs accounting for 3/4^th of channel growth.

The review also revealed that shoppers remained excited about new products that deliver on flavour and functionality as health is a growing priority for people, with 35% soft drink shoppers classed as “health moderators” and 26% as “health actives”.  

Lastly, retailers can take seven steps to generate £225m worth of soft drinks sales, that is about £5000 per store. They are listed below:

• Add value to hydration: With younger generations over-indexing on ‘hydration’, retailers should add value to their water offering by using flavour, format and function to invite shoppers to trade up
• Push Permissible Choices: Capitalise on sugar-free by balancing your range on fixtures and promotional ends, as well as offering new and healthier meal and snack solutions
• Recruit with Healthy Heroes: Educate shoppers about the range of functional drinks available to help them make proactive choices
• Fuel Fuel Further: Champion energy drinks, as the category has witnessed 93% consumer growth in the last 10 years and continues to exhibit “convenience bias” among shoppers.
• Make Meals Matter: Pair soft drinks with food items to drive impulse purchase and grow basket spend
• Takeover Treat Times: Make ‘treat’ missions attractive by offering innovative solutions in different flavours, formats and textures
• Capitalise on Impulsive Socialising: Pair soft drinks with snacks and/or alcohol to tempt impulse purchased for social occasions to boost basket spend

The full review can be accessed here

Read more product news