Driving soft drink growth together in convenience with CCEP

by Alison Adderley, Field Sales Director, Coca-Cola European Partners

Shopper habits are changing, and this is driving growth in the convenience channel¹. We’re seeing shoppers make more frequent shopping trips, and visits to local convenience stores are on the up. With more than 80% of consumers now shopping at a convenience outlet once a week and one in five making a daily visit², there’s a bigger opportunity than ever for retailers to boost their sales by stocking the right ranges and delivering the right shopper experience.

Stocking the right range

Soft drinks sales remain robust and are currently worth more than £8.6 billion to retailers³. There is a huge opportunity for stores in Scotland to grow their soft drink sales, and we are committed to working with our customers to ensure that they are well-placed to make the most of this. As part of our Total Beverage Company strategy we continue to invest in our core ranges, as well as launching new flavour innovations, new pack formats and new brands to provide shoppers with choice they want.

The Cola and Energy segments remain vital to Scottish convenience retailers with both segments enjoying strong growth in the impulse channel⁴. Within this Coca-Cola original taste and Monster original feature in the Top 5 performing soft drinks delivering double digit growth⁵ and confirming that consumers still love the great taste of classic variants.

In addition to this, it’s important to remember the increasing demand for ‘zero or low-sugar’ soft drinks, which are growing by 10% in the impulse channel in Scotland⁶. Within this, Diet Coke is the biggest light cola brand⁷, while Coca-Cola zero sugar is the fastest growing major cola brand up by 25%⁸ as more shoppers opt for low and no sugar options. Outside of colas, the Monster Ultra range is now GB’s number one low calorie Energy range⁹ and has just added Monster Ultra Paradise Punch to the line-up which brings together hints of Kiwi, Lime and Cucumber for a light and refreshing taste.

Shoppers are also becoming more adventurous and are looking to experiment with new and exciting variants of their favourite soft drinks. For example within the impulse channel in Scotland flavoured colas are up by 10%¹⁰, thanks to firm favourites like Cola-Cola Cherry but also with the arrival of new flavours like Diet Coke Twisted Strawberry which we added to our portfolio last year and is already worth £8m¹¹.

The importance of in-store execution

Whilst getting the range right is extremely important, retailers also need to focus on in-store execution to ensure that the shopping experience is clear and straightforward. This includes well-merchandised chilled displays grouping soft drink segments together, cross-category adjacencies that place soft drinks alongside complementary categories like snacks or sandwiches to drive linked purchases, and clear pricing and promotions to grab shopper attention.

The convenience channel remains of critical importance to CCEP and this year our Field Sales team is committed to visiting more out-of-home customers and providing tailored support to help them maximise their soft drinks sales.

1. IGD research, the UK convenience market July 2019
2. Statista: Frequency of visits of shoppers to convenience stores in GB between 2012 and 2018
3. AC Nielsen Value Sales MAT w.e. 07.09.19
4. AC Nielsen Total Impulse Scotland Value Sales MAT w.e. 28.09.19
5. AC Nielsen Total Impulse Scotland Value Sales MAT w.e. 28.09.19
6. AC Nielsen Total Impulse Scotland Value Sales MAT w.e. 28.09.19
7. AC Nielsen Total Impulse Scotland Value Sales MAT w.e. 28.09.19
8. AC Nielsen Total Impulse Scotland Value Sales MAT w.e. 28.09.19
9. AC Nielsen MAT Total Coverage w.e. 30.11.19
10. AC Nielsen Total Impulse Scotland Value Sales MAT w.e. 28.09.19
11. AC Nielsen YTD Total Value Sales w.e. 03.11.19