Soft drinks: retail sales growth is in the can
of increasing overall beverage sales than those which do not,
according to a recent survey carried out in France.
Published in the latest issue of APEAL News, the magazine of the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging, the survey results show that beverage cans account for a large share of total beverage sales via French hypermarkets, even though their overall share of soft drink sales is still relatively low.
The survey was carried out by a company called GIE La Boîte Boisson which was established in 1992 to promote the use of aluminium cans in the beverage industry in France.
Along with the Auchan retail chain and Coca-Cola Enterprises, the main supplier of Coca-Cola brands to the French market, the company sought to establish whether the beverage can had a consistently positive effect on drinks sales or whether there were other factors which influenced sales.
Data from Auchan showed that sales of soft drinks in comparable stores (similar size, potential and consumer base) varied greatly - in some cases, sales were 2.6 times higher - and while a number of factors leading to these differences had already been identified, GIE La Boîte Boisson wanted to discover whether one such element - consumer preference for cans - was the main driver of sales.
A total of 18 Auchan hypermarkets throughout the various regions of France took part in the survey, which tracked sales of cola, juice and other soft drinks. Sales data, store management information, customer profiles, in-store layouts and supply chain issues were all assessed.
A number of factors influencing the soft drink sector were confirmed as having a positive effect on overall beverage sales: placing soft drinks close to the important mineral water section, offering a wide range of competitive brands, presenting soft drinks according to their particular product segment, offering drinks in large volume formats and stocking soft drinks in cans.
The presence of cola has a major effect, accounting for 65 per cent of total non-alcoholic drink sales and therefore a sizeable chunk of total beverage sales, the survey showed. In contrast, other soft drink varieties had very little effect, while fruit juices had no effect at all on lifting total beverage sales.
GIE La Boîte Boisson looked at the potential influence of around 50 different factors, and found that just three to five of them had any major impact - one of which was stocking drinks in cans. In fact, cans account for 35 per cent of total beverage sales in French hypermarkets, even though they only take 15 per cent of soft drink sales.
Perhaps even more important was the revelation that factors which might traditionally be thought to play a major role - the organisation of shelves, positioning within the store, discounts, inventory management, presentation, the use of refrigerated cabinets, etc. - had only a minor effect on sales, if indeed they had any at all.
Auchan has selected six underperforming stores to trial a new soft drinks sales strategy based on the findings of the survey.
With PET being increasingly lauded as the packaging medium of choice for the drinks industry as a whole - alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks - the results of the survey will make interesting reading for can manufacturers and drink producers alike.
That the can will remain a convenient, cheap and effective pack format for soft drinks for many years to come is not in doubt - recycling legislation notwithstanding - but its positive effect on the rest of the industry (and any comparative effect for PET) is yet to be fully documented.
