While the warmer weather during the summer is a key sales time for soft drinks, so too is the cooler weather in December when friends and family gather to celebrate Christmas.
Indeed, according to Nielsen data, sales of soft drinks were 17% greater than the average month in December last year. Rob Yeomans, vice-president, commercial development at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) GB, says Kantar data reveals that last year, soft drinks delivered its biggest ever Christmas sales in the four weeks to December 31 (Kantar), with Coca-Cola the soft drink of choice for more than 10m households (Lumina Intelligence).
While consumers always have an eye on pricing, at Christmas they are more likely to trade up to brands to treat themselves and their family and friends.
Ben Parker, GB retail commercial director at Britvic, says: “Christmas remains a time when many people look for ways to treat themselves, even if just with small and affordable luxuries. In fact, last year we saw one in five baskets featuring premium products and we expect this trend to continue into Christmas 2024 (Kantar).”
Coca-Cola will no doubt be one of the brands that people treat themselves to. Its Christmas Truck Tour is back, supporting FareShare. For every person who visits the Truck Tour, the equivalent of a meal will be donated on their behalf with up to one million meals being donated.
There is also a new Coca-Cola on-pack promotion which gives shoppers the chance to win £50 shopping vouchers and a there’s promotion for retailers too.
This year, the Coca-Cola Truck Tour focuses on the ambition to make kindness travel. Echoing the wider Coca-Cola Christmas campaign message, “The World Needs More Santas”, the tour will encourage visitors to embrace their inner Santa and share an act of kindness with others during the festive season.
The Coca‑Cola Christmas Truck is back on TV screens, with a new twist. For the first time, Coca-Cola has introduced an AI-generated interpretation of the classic ad, with a fusion of human creativity and advanced technology. The brand will also unveil a new festive digital AI experience, which enables people to engage in conversations with Santa or a snow globe avatar to create a personalised, shareable snow globe animation. They do this by scanning the QR code on a Christmas bottle or can of Coca-Cola.
For the free prize draw, which runs until January 2, shoppers scan QR codes on festive-themed cans and bottles of Coca-Cola Original Taste and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar to find out instantly if they’ve won one of thousands of £50 shopping vouchers.
The limited-edition packs feature festive designs with Santa graphics and decorations.
Yeomans says: “Coca-Cola is synonymous with Christmas thanks to the iconic campaigns and Truck Tour that consumers look forward to every year. Our new limited-edition packs and shopping voucher giveaway will help retailers build on that excitement and offer their customers a chance to win something to support with the cost of Christmas.
“Our aim is to spread Christmas spirit and bring people together to create special Christmas celebrations at home. We’d encourage retailers to make the most of the opportunities that Christmas brings, such as by creating cross-category displays in store and using occasion led messaging at the fixture, which can help double shopper engagement and increase sales.”
Coca-Cola has something for retailers too. Its new ‘Local Moments of Joy’ campaign gives independent and convenience retailers the chance to win a share of £48,000 ahead of the festive season to help make Christmas extra special for their customers and local area.
Retailers must be registered on My.CCEP.com to enter the daily free prize draw. Each of the 12 randomly selected daily winners will receive £1,000 to thank them for their support in 2024. The competition closes on Friday November 29, with winners contacted the day after each draw.
A further 12 lucky winners can claim up to £10,000, as part of a share of £36,000, to donate to a nominated registered local charity or good cause of their choice.
Ruth Fawcett, convenience and wholesale associate director at CCEP GB, says: “For decades, the Coca-Cola brand has united people during memorable seasonal moments and become synonymous with Christmas. Convenience retailers embody that spirit – they are at the heart of their communities all year round, supporting local causes and creating welcoming spaces for everyone.
“With ‘Local Moments of Joy’ we want to celebrate and reward their generosity by helping them spread a little extra holiday magic this season. This fund allows retailers to make Christmas even more special, whether through charitable donations or putting on events. We can’t wait to see the joy they bring to their communities this Christmas.”
Energetic sales
Energy is a key category at Christmas, accounting for 17% of all soft drink sales over the festive period and gaining share each year (Nielsen stats).
Last year penetration of energy multipacks grew by +7% in December versus the average month, as shoppers traded up into higher volume packs (Kantar). Red Bull recommends that retailers make sure their range caters to larger group occasions as 40% of sports and energy occasions over Christmas feature three or more people.
To cater for winter and Christmas, Red Bull says it is important to have availability of the four pack for entertaining and socialising, as well as chilled availability of single cans – in particular larger formats such as 355ml and 473ml – when shoppers are looking for that boost of energy to get them through the season.
Christmas is also a key time for shoppers to experiment with flavours, last year just over one-third of Red Bull shoppers bought a Red Bull Edition over Christmas. The range saw strong growth and delivered £4m over Christmas last year (+68% versus year-on-year – Nielsen).
Nielsen data also shows that Red Bull Editions are growing ahead of total sports and energy flavours, with the range now valued at £63m, +39% year-on-year. Last year the Red Bull Winter Edition Spiced Pear delivered strong sales and drove growth, selling two million serves within in its first six months and driving 35% of Edition’s growth within the first 12 weeks of launch into independent and symbols (Nielsen).
However, Red Bull 250ml remains an absolute ‘must stock’ line as it sells more packs than any other single serve soft drink all year round (Nielsen).
The rise of no/low options
Parker at Britvic says no and low alcohol continues to grow in popularity and has become a top drinks trend (Lumina Intelligence). “This is driven in particular by younger people’s desire to lead healthier lifestyles, with 45% of consumers saying they are trying to moderate or reduce their alcohol intake (Kantar). So, there is no better time for retailers to expand their range of soft drinks and alcohol-free options in store to provide shoppers with plenty of choice over the festive period.”
He suggest stocking J2O’s Ready-To-Drink Mocktails. Launched last year, there are three flavours: Strawberry & Orange Blossom Mojito, White Peach & Mango Daiquiri, and Blackberry & Blueberry Martini.
“These products are designed for consumers seeking more elevated experiences that match up to the mocktail experience they get out-of-home. Our J₂O range also includes the festive Glitterberry variant, a blend of grape, cherry and winter spices with edible red glitter. J2O is already synonymous with social occasions and with Glitterberry retailers can help consumers add an extra festive sparkle to their Christmas gatherings.”
New for this year, is a “bold and disruptive” festive design, across J2O’s core range of four- and 10-pack bottles (Orange & Passion Fruit, Apple & Raspberry and Apple & Mango). The new packaging moves away from some of the more traditional Christmas colours, to play into the colours synonymous with each of the core flavours.
Parker also advises retailers to have large formats and multipacks to cater to different shopper needs. “For those consumers who are planning nights in with friends and family over socialising outside of the home, larger formats such as our 2ltr sharing bottles and multipacks of carbonated soft drinks such as Pepsi Max play an important role.”
To provide support for the Pepsi brand and help retailers drive sales during Christmas 2024, the ‘Fizz the Season’ campaign returns giving shoppers chances to win prizes alongside a purchase. “At what is already a critical and successful time of the year for the cola category, it is key to ensure the brand is front of mind for regular buyers as well as those looking for a seasonal treat,” says Parker.
Top tips from Britvic
• Maximise visibility – Retailers can maximise their soft drinks sales by focusing on the availability of key categories such as cola, lemonade, mixers and adult socialising drinks. Place festive flavoured soft drinks, including brands such as J2O Glitterberry in the centre of the fixture to drive sales.
• Promotions – Promotions are a great way to encourage impulse purchases and this is especially true during Christmas. Last year retailers sold more products on promotion in December alone compared to the rest of the year (Kantar). Communicate promotions to shoppers to drive both awareness and footfall. For example, placing core soft drinks such as Pepsi Max alongside other categories in store, such as savoury sharers, party snacks, to purchase and increase basket spend.
• Offer choice – It is key that retailers think outside the box and remember that the end of the calendar year isn’t only about Christmas. It’s therefore important to consider other key events taking place. Occasions like New Year’s Eve and the start of Hanukkah both fall in December, so consider offering specific promotions and point of sale to take advantage of the additional footfall. In terms of the best format options, Britvic suggests focusing on single multipacks in the run up to Christmas week and then shift towards multi-serve to support top up shops.
• Seasonal displays – Creating seasonal displays, featuring best sellers and well-loved favourites is a great way to get customers in the spirit and encourage additional basket spend. Highlighting limited edition soft drinks on display ends is also a key sales driver to encourage shoppers into store and to drive impulse purchases, especially among younger shoppers. Some 71% of 18–24-year-olds buy soft drinks on impulse (Lumina Intelligence).
