EXCLUSIVE: CCEP & Britvic boycotts hit sales at some shops

Stores and wholesalers have reported lost sales due to the Palestine-related boycotts of Coca-Cola and Britvic, despite analysis by Better Retailing showing no widespread impact.

Following senior industry figures claim­ing some wholesalers had seen sales drop, and Better Retailing confirming a minority of cash and carries had delisted the suppliers in support of the boycott, Better Retailing analysed sales data from thousands of con­venience stores, aligning it with a YouGov survey on support for Palestine by UK region. The results showed no correlated impact on the brands’ performance.

However, the evidence from wholesalers and some stores does suggest very localised impacts, resulting in sales changes and the rise of alternative products.

Some brands growing sales after boycotts on American brands

Speaking to Better Retailing last month, Tom Gittins, chief executive of Confex, a buying group represent­ing 10% of all wholesalers in the UK, explained: “There’s been a veto on American brands in cer­tain areas of the country. That trend will continue. AG Barr has gained mar­ket share and so have a lot of alternative brands.

“This is why Coke and Britvic aren’t doing so well in some parts of the country. I expect those sales to return next year. We have quite a diverse wholesaler base, especially in the north of England. AG Barr Cola has had a massive surge there. Whatever hap­pens in the Middle East, if it calms down, it will return to normal.”

One example of a store affected by the protest movement is Abdul Arain’s Al-Amin Stores in Cambridge. He told Better Retailing: “My Coke sales have noticeably declined. The takeaways and restau­rants I’d normally sell to don’t want to buy them anymore. It’s been this way since June.

“Salaam Cola has been an alternative they’ve bought, as well as AG Barr’s cans and Rubicon. A lot of that has been down to the Boycott, Di­vestment and Sanctions movement against Israel in the area.”

Read more Britvic product news

Conversely, Andrew Taylor, of Taylors Value & Convenience, Hull told Better Retailing: “I’ve never even heard of the boycotts and it certainly isn’t having any effect here. It strikes me it’s prob­ably more related to student-heavy areas… If anything, Coca-Cola has been selling very well.”

Asked about declining sales on affected lines due to the boycott, one major wholesaler said: “We have had the same feedback from some of our custom­ers, but this may be a minority of customers – it’s difficult to get any tangible insight.”

They said Coke was still “performing strong” and suggested other fac­tors may also be behind Britvic and AG Barr’s performance.

Another leading figure, with close links with many UK wholesalers said: “I believe it has had an impact, some have delisted lines as well, such as some wholesalers in Blackburn.”

Retailers receive criticism from customers when promoting boycotted products

Even stores with no sales impact have reported criticism when promoting affected products. One explained: “I do post some promo material from Coke on social media, but people have commented asking others to boycott these products.”

Maqsood Akhtar, own­er of Blackthorn News and Food in Rotherham, supported the objec­tives of the campaign, stating: “If I could de-list them I would, but it’s just wouldn’t work in the community I’m in.

“Instead, I’m giving the profit made to the people of Palestine and other conflicts around the world.

“We have people coming into store ex­pressing their support and it’s so important to stress that this isn’t just a Muslim thing, it has a really diverse range of support.”

The boycott relates to allegations that the suppliers’ brands use oc­cupied Palestinian land. Both companies have previously stated their operations support local people across the region.

Britvic declined to comment and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners did not provide a response.

Read more Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) product news and articles