Sales of packaged beverages in Russia rose by a spectacular 16 per cent in 2002 and will continue the upward trend this year, claim market analysts Canadean in a new report.
Last year's advance was fuelled by double-digit growth in all sectors with the exception of squash/syrups, and this pattern will be repeated in 2003, Canadean suggests. Growth is likely to exceed 10 per cent for all categories with the exception of the largest - beer.
The recent economic and political stability in Russia, which has brought with it a rise in disposable incomes, has prompted drinks manufacturers to expand the range of both products and packaging formats available in the Russian market, and this has been the main factor behind the spectacular growth there.
Beer, which has been the biggest success story of recent years in Russia and is the only alcoholic beverage which can mount a serious challenge to vodka, registered a slowdown in growth last year, but this was only to be expected after its rapid rise up the rankings, Canadean said.
Nonetheless, there is still growth in the beer market, with manufacturers moving into new packaging formats such as the PET bottle and two-piece cans. The latter format increased its share of the market by around three times over 2001 levels in 2002, Canadean said, while PET now accounts for 36 per cent of all beer volumes there. Glass was the major loser from these trends, and the switch of traditional low priced draught beer consumers away from glass bottles is expected to further benefit 150cl PET packs in 2003.
The packaging picture is much more straightforward in the second largest sector: over 90 per cent of carbonates are filled in non refillable PET. Refillable glass is used by only a small number of producers focused on traditional products. It is a similar tale in the third largest sector, packaged water, where over 80 per cent of output is packaged in 150cl non-refillable PET, Canadean said. All major producers now offer single serve non-refillable PET, targeting the younger generation and promoting on-the-go consumption.
Increasing consumption of juices, nectars and still drinks hoisted laminates fillings up just over 30 per cent in 2002, the report said, with the carton remaining the dominant pack type in this sector. The most popular size is 1-litre, followed by 1.5-litre multi-serve, although 200cl family packs are also increasing in usage.
Looking to the future, Canadean predicts the ongoing decline of glass's share in the packaging market. Although non-refillable glass is expected to increase sales considerably this year, as brewers use it for premium brands, this will only provide a brief respite; in the longer term, the limited capacity of Russian glass bottle manufacturers will force soft drinks producers to switch to cans and PET.
The Canadean report is one of four new publications looking at the drinks packaging scene in East Europe. The others cover Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic and details of how to order all of them can be found here.