Product news of the week (editor’s choice): Britvic

There’s a £2.4bn incremental growth opportunity for the soft drinks market by 2020 if manufacturers, retailers and licensees can engage more consumers on more occasions and in more environments.

According to Britvic Soft Drinks’ category vision, future growth can be unlocked through several category drivers that better meet consumer needs, leverage daily occasions and improve engagement at point of purchase. For the convenience sector, this includes making the category easier to shop, tapping into seasons and events throughout the year and pairing soft drinks with food. Claire Handford-Jones, director of category at Britvic Soft Drinks, said there’s a £329m growth opportunity through top-up shopping alone. “Retailers need to disrupt shoppers on top-up missions with propositions that are relevant to occasions such as ‘meal for tonight’, ‘snack solutions’ and staple item replenishment,” she said. Britvic Soft Drinks Review headlines

• Total market sales totalled £10.3bn
• Grocery and convenience sales grew 4% in value and 2% volume to reach £7.5bn
• Cola is worth more than £1.6bn
• Vale sales of cold hot drinks rose 43%
• Glucose and energy drinks grew ahead of the category with a 7% increase in value sales
• Plain water saw the highest growth within the water segment, with value sales climbing 13% to £573m

  The supplier’s category vision was announced at the same time its Soft Drinks Review, which found soft drink sales grew steadily in 2013, rising by 2% to take the category over the £10bn mark for the first time. The category was helped by a strong summer and several trends, including value-for-money, premium products and healthier propositions. The convenience sector experienced the strongest growth, with value and volume sales both rising by 5%, indicating that consumers were increasingly looking to purchase soft drinks on the go. “The grocery and convenience channel remains key to soft drinks development, with grocery accounting for the majority of all value sales and convenience experiencing the strongest value sales growth,” said Paul Graham, Britvic general manager.