2023 Britvic Soft Drinks Review Licensed - Flipbook - Page 14
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Taking a longer-term view of soft drinks’ performance
provides more reasons to be cheerful. In grocery, soft
drinks and bagged snacks have proven to be the most
resilient categories in value and volume terms over
the past five years, delivering consistent year-on-year
growth.19 According to Global Data, total soft drinks
volumes have grown in line with or ahead of GDP for the
past two decades, despite periods of economic turmoil.20
Healthy opportunities
Consumers are reacting to the current crisis differently
to how they’ve responded to previous downturns.
Treating oneself doesn’t necessarily mean eating
or drinking unhealthily anymore. Consumers are
considering health benefits more than in the past
and are even prepared to pay more for products they
perceive to be better for them.21
They’re drinking less alcohol too. One in three is now
teetotal,22 and the proportion of people who report
drinking at least once a week is less than half for the
first time on record (48% in 2019, down from 52% in
2015).23 More people may be abstaining from alcohol,
but that doesn’t mean they want to feel like they are
missing out. The new temperance movement presents
huge opportunities to drive value into the category with
sophisticated, premium soft drinks.
It’s crucial that retailers and their suppliers take a
nuanced view of consumers’ changing demands.
Occasion is key – shoppers tend to be more healthconscious earlier in the day and earlier in the week,24
for example. In foodservice and licensed venues,
consumers with more readily disposable incomes tend
to be more focused on health.25 It’s therefore essential
that we target the right consumers at the right moments.
Given the events of the past three years, it’s not
surprising that health claims relating to immunity,
gut health, vitamins, minerals and botanicals
have become common currency. Although not yet
mainstream, other functional claims are fast gaining
ground with manufacturers of drinks fortified with
substances such as CBD, 26 adaptogens27 and GABA28
making bold claims.
The current downturn is different to the global financial
crisis that rocked the world in 2008. Back then, fewer
than one in four (24%) new food and drink launches
were marketed on health claims. By 2019, that number
had risen to 36% and in 2022 it stood at 30%. Analysts
suggest the decline is the result of greater caution
around NPD in light of the current crisis.29
Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that some
consumers now value health claims more highly than
any other attribute. For 45% of people, added health
benefits are the most prized quality in food and drink,
trumping low prices (at 42%). The second most prized
quality is ‘natural’ ingredients (with 43% of the vote),
which bodes well for soft drinks with claims relating to
health and naturalness, as long as they taste great too.30
19 5 years, IRI, Total Store, All Outlets, Period Ending 28/01/2023
20 Global Data (volume); World Bank and ONS (GDP)
21 Mintel: Recession and the cost-of-living crisis: Key challenges and opportunities for brands in the UK January 2023
22 Lumina Intelligence, Menu & Food Trends report, December 2022
23 2019 Drinkaware Study: https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/research/alcohol-facts-and-data/alcohol-consumption-uk
24 Lumina Intelligence – Eating and Drinking Out Panel, Top Growing Reasons for choosing an Establishment, 12WE 21/303/2022-12/06/2022
25 Lumina Intelligence, Eating and Drinking Out Panel, Soft Drink- Day Parts- Health Index vs Total, 12 w/e 21/03/2022 – 12/06/2022
26 Health Harvard Publishing - Cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis – 24/09/2021 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-weknow-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476
27 UCLA Health - Adaptogens are “herbs, roots and other plant substances (like mushrooms) that help our bodies manage stress and restore balance after a stressful
situation” – 16/02/2022 https://www.uclahealth.org/news/what-are-adaptogens-and-should-you-be-taking-them#:~:text=Adaptogens%20are%20herbs%2C%20roots%20
and,soups%2C%20smoothies%20and%20other%20foods.
28 Cleveland Clinic - Gamma-aminobutyric acid is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, in the brain. GABA is known for producing a calming effect. It’s thought to play
a major role in controlling anxiety, stress and fear - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22857-gamma-aminobutyric-acid-gaba#:~:text=other%20nerve%20cells.,GABA%20is%20known%20for%20producing%20a%20calming%20effect.,well%20as%20other%20medical%20conditions.
29 Mintel Cost of Living 2023 P5
30 Mintel: Recession and the cost-of-living crisis: Key challenges and opportunities for brands in the UK January 2023
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CATEGORY OVERVIEW