Paul Hill finds out how the Costa Coffee ready-to-drink (RTD) range has performed in two depots that have implemented changes at the fixture
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and Costa Coffee recently visited Parfetts Stockport and Dhamecha Hayes to offer advice and relay their RTD chilled coffee fixtures, with the aim of improving sales in one of the fastest-growing segments within soft drinks.
“It was great travelling across the country to discuss the exciting opportunity we’ve identified to grow RTD coffee sales. We’re doing the same with retailers – driving demand along the supply chain so we can help the segment reach its potential,” said Matthew O’Hagan, senior portfolio execution manager, FMCG UK&I at Costa Coffee.
The results were hugely positive, with Costa Coffee RTD sales volumes for the six weeks post-fixture relay compared to the six weeks prior at Hayes and Stockport seeing outstanding increases of 208% and 312% respectively.
The trial period was mostly warm, which is always good news in soft drinks – and sales of RTD chilled coffee across all Parfetts and Dhamecha depots increased over the six weeks in question. But they were some way behind the two sites that benefited from the relays and advice from CCEP and Costa Coffee.
Read more: Working Together Project: CCEP, Costa Coffee, Parfetts & Dhamecha
Compared to Parfetts Stockport’s volume sales uplift of 312% for the Costa Coffee RTD range during the six weeks post-relay, its other sites achieved 115%, on average. And for Dhamecha, 208% growth in Hayes outperformed the 151% on average elsewhere – inspiring seven other depots to apply the same changes.
Jamie Ferguson, head of marketing at Parfetts, said: “Implementing the Costa fixture plan in the trial depot has driven retailer engagement with RTD chilled coffee in general. We have seen positive feedback from retailers who can now shop the category more easily rather than hunting the SKU on their shopping list all around the depot.”
“Being part of the trial has seen us bring all our RTD chilled coffee products together into one location and create more impact at fixture,” added Vinod Ramgi, Dhamecha Hayes depot manager. “This has made it easier for customers to locate products, and the support of the sampling and active selling days has helped us to educate our customers.”
By not just offering advice on specific products and rather championing the entire category, CCEP has made its wholesale partners hugely successful and put them in a fantastic position to achieve long-term success in an already fast-growing segment.
As well as supporting wholesalers in leveraging the opportunity, CCEP provides category advice and sales tools to help convenience customers maximise sales. The ambition is that wholesalers and retailers are aligned on the opportunity.
“It’s brilliant that the changes we made have paid off for both depots, and that our partners recognise the huge potential in RTD chilled coffee,” concluded O’Hagan. “It was great working with Parfetts and Dhamecha, allowing us to drive positive change in depot. We are confident this will accelerate sales for both the segment and our Costa brand by providing a clearer standout view of the category.”
Matthew O’Hagan, senior portfolio execution manager, FMCG UK&I, Costa Coffee: “Ultimately, it’s about making the segment easy for retailers to find and shop – which is just what we’re advising retailers themselves to do in-store, when catering for consumers. And together we’ve proved that it works!”
All Total GB brand/category data Nielsen Total GB MAT we 17.06.23. All wholesaler/ depot-specific sales volume data comparing six weeks post relay (WC 24.05.23 to WC 29.05.23) with six weeks pre relay WC 13.03.23 to WC 17.04.23)
All photos: Stewart Allan
