Beverage | Carbonated Beverages
SOFT DRINKS RISE, BUT
SPARKLING WATER DRIVES CARBONATED GROWTH After a multi-year volume decline, carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) rebounded in 2021 due to foodservice sales increasing post2020, according to Gary Hemphill, managing director of research at Beverage Marketing Corp.
Jan. 29, 2022, per NielsenIQ. Seltzer water totaled $32.4 million, up 6.8%. “Consumer demand for healthier sparkling refreshment has boosted the sparkling water category,” said Hemphill. When it comes to traditional soft drinks, despite rising dollar sales, not Dollar sales for carbonated beverall c-stores foresee growth for the ages increased by 7.3% for the 52 category in 2022, as competition in weeks ending Dec. 26, 2021, accordthe cold vault and customers’ pening to IRI convenience store data. chant for healthier options continues. Soft drinks saw dollar sales of $8.63 Eric Patterson, merchandising billion, up 4% for the 52 weeks ending manager at Flint, Mich.-based Beacon Jan. 29, 2022, according to Total U.S. & Bridge Market, commented that soft Convenience data from NielsenIQ. drinks, despite being a store staple, are A top performer of the carbonated not expected to be granted expanded beverage category in 2022 is exspace in Beacon & Bridge’s 25 stores. pected to be sparkling water, which However, he noted that CSDs are has seen dollar sales steadily rise year “still the workhorse category for (its) after year, Hemphill noted. vaults.” Sparkling water dollar sales rose Patterson noticed that watermelon 20.4%, totaling $267 million in conveseemed to be a trending flavor for nience stores for the 52 weeks ending soft drinks.
Soft Drink Sales Increase
Soft drink dollar sales were up 17.7% from Nov. 1, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022, compared to the same period last year, according to data from National Retail Solutions. Soft drinks were most often purchased with cigarettes, confections or potato chips.
Units Per Store Per Unit % Chg Week Chg
% of Times Purchased Only Within Category
Category
$ % Chg
$ Shr of Category
Soft drinks
17.7%
32.1
-1.3
9.0%
11.0
31.8%
Energy beverages
23.1%
21.3
0.1
17.4%
9.6
37.0%
Fruit drinks
21.7%
13.5
-0.1
13.8%
7.5
25.6%
Sport drinks
43.4%
7.2
1.1
30.6%
7.1
23.5%
Fruit juice
20.0%
4.7
-0.1
17.8%
2.4
26.3%
Water
26.8%
4.5
0.2
21.2%
3.6
29.8%
Liquid tea
17.4%
3.8
-0.2
11.0%
2.2
24.8%
Value add water
33.5%
3.6
0.3
26.3%
3.8
24.8%
RTD coffee
25.3%
2.7
0.1
17.1%
1.4
25.7%
Chg
Source: National Retail Solutions (NRS) data scan of 12,069 stores selling non-alcoholic beverages. All change measures are same store sales (7,559 stores) Nov. 1, 2021-Jan. 31, 2022, versus Nov. 1, 2020-Jan. 31, 2021.
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CSTORE DECISIONS •
March 2022
“Anything watermelon is on fire! A few years ago, it was mango everything; today, it’s watermelon. We’ve seen good success with Mt. Dew Major Melon, Watermelon Monster and Watermelon Red Bull,” he said. He also pointed out Pepsi’s successful strategy with Mountain Dew limited-time offers. NEW BRANDS AND INNOVATION
Hemphill expects to see new innovation surrounding CSDs and other sparkling beverages, particularly functional innovation. “One example is the increasing numbers of pre- and probiotic sparkling drinks that have emerged on the market,” he said, referring to recent innovation. He also anticipates seeing an increased blend between traditional refreshment brands and alcohol, provided the combinations already in the market are successful. Patterson noted that innovation can be successful, particularly for consumers in more densely populated areas who “are more apt to try something new.” Additionally, Patterson suggested that carrying new brands would help boost the category. Beacon & Bridge plans to add brands to its portfolio with the hopes that consumers who typically lean toward cold dispensed beverages might convert to refrigerated beverages, especially because Patterson expects cold dispensed beverage sales, which have been down at his stores since the start of the pandemic, to continue to trend downward. “With all the pipeline disruptions we’ve seen,” he said, “I really think this is going to be the time for ancillary brands to shine.”
cstoredecisions.com
