News
Driving sustainable growth for our customers in the soft drinks category
19/10/2023
Oliver Crick
At CCEP, we are committed to creating value for our customers. We do this not just by focusing on growing our own portfolio of products, but by considering how we can grow the soft drinks category as a whole. With the market continuously changing, it is more important than ever to have the right commercial strategies in place to be able to respond to this evolving landscape.
Putting consumers at the heart and through this lens identifying opportunities for category growth, is key to the success of any commercial strategy. This can engage customers in a way that motivates them to think differently and change how they sell. It can help create partnerships to support them in addressing challenges and opportunities.
It’s in that context that we, alongside The Coca-Cola Company, developed our new vision for the soft drinks category - Refresh Europe1. It is based on the latest consumer data, sets out how our commercial plans are built, and how we plan to grow the category.
INVESTMENT IN DATA
We have invested significantly in up-to-date data, research and insights to guide our vision, as well as shape future behaviours.
Through this data, we know that in the short-term, consumers have changed their behaviours to adapt to the impact of the higher cost-of-living, whether that’s through down-trading or limiting non-essentials2. We also know that consumers increasingly consider things like health and sustainability3.
The data has also confirmed our confidence in the category. In 2022, Non-Alcoholic Ready To Drink (NARTD) was the only category growing in units4. Even in the face of the cost of living crisis, it is considered an affordable treat and is well protected when it comes to switching to private label2. Brand is twice as important in NARTD than in other categories in terms of importance in a purchasing decision2.
CCEP DRIVING CATEGORY GROWTH
In 2023, CCEP created more value than any other FMCG business5. We are focused on having a strong vision to help support this growth and value creation. We know we need to consider how we bring value to consumers, and what value means to them. It’s about having the right pack and price, on the right brand, in the right occasion delivered in line with values that our consumers can relate to.
Using our understanding of the data, our vision identified seven elements that we see as key drivers of category growth:
- Enjoy With Food
- Energising Break
- Active Hydration
- Responsible Living
- Healthier Choices
- Enjoy Socialising
- Chill Break
Enjoy With Food
Enjoy With Food
Enhancing meals with drinks to accompany everyday, special meals and snacking.
In France, we had a partnership with Picadeli, a salad bar outlet, and grocery store Franprix. The partnership saw shoppers who bought a Picadeli salad and a CCEP drink could participate to win Spotify subscriptions and healthy recipes e-books.
Energising Break
Energising Break
Drink to energise and give yourself a physical or mental boost to keep you going through the day.
Active Hydration
Active Hydration
Maintaining body productivity and hydration levels through the day
Responsible Living
Responsible Living
Buying ethically conscious beverages to live responsibly.
Healthier Choices
Healthier Choices
Choosing healthier and nutritious drinks to increase wellbeing. Healthier choices and Responsible Living sit across, and impact, all the other drivers.
In Portugal, we are delivering “Healthier Choices” through a multi-pronged activation approach. This includes increasing the distribution of lower calorie products, promoting the portfolio and executing appropriate food pairings.
Enjoy Socialising
Enjoy Socialising
Enriching socialising and celebratory events with distinctive and premium drinks
Chill Break
Chill Break
Treating yourself to a break with your favourite drink to reduce stress
Each of the growth drivers have strategies behind them to maximise sales in those moments, while also tailoring our plans to different shopper groups. Together, the growth drivers have the potential to unlock €17bn in sales by 2026, including €10bn in away-from-home (AFH) and €7bn in retail6.
WORKING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS
Our enhanced vision is based on our thorough understanding of our consumers’ needs. We will match each of our brands to one or more of the growth drivers, and based on this, build the relevant commercial capabilities to be fit for the future.
Overall, we are confident that our vision provides the foundations to accelerate and unlock further growth of this resilient and thriving category.
Our new vision sets out our commitment to growing the soft drinks category as a whole. It uses the latest data to understand what consumers want and how we can give them that.
As a leading FMCG business, we have a great track record of creating value for our customers. I’m looking forward to seeing how we can use these insights to unlock further growth for our customers in this exciting and innovative category.
1 Covering Europe, but also used by API
2 European Shopper Research, March 2023. TCCC with Walnut. Total Sample, 14,900
3 Euromonitor European Trends Analysis - February 2023
4 Nielsen GTC FY 2022 – CCEP Top 6 markets. *Others = Health & Beauty, Homecare, Paper Prod, PET Food
5 NielsenIQ Strategic Planner YTD Data to WE 13.08.23 Countries included are DE, GB, ES, FR, BE, NL SE, PT & NO. CCEP defined as TCCC (excluding Innocent), Monster Energy, Dr Pepper (GB ONLY) & Capri Sun GB, ES, FR, BE, NL SE & PT ONLY)
6 This is the sales opportunity by 2026 (vs 2023) for CCEP top 6 markets.