Britvic is working with wholesalers to offer inspiration and advice on how to refresh your soft drinks category and ensure you maximise your profits.
With a portfolio of iconic brands, Britvic is set on staying ahead of the latest industry trends, spotting opportunities in the market and sharing them with suppliers. Navigate the sections below to get up to date on the most recent product news, category management advice, inspiration and tips from one of the industry leaders.
Understand the market
What are your shoppers’ missions? How can your depot cater to them? Take note of these simple to follow steps and apply them in your depot to see your sales grow.
Know the category
Which brands are top sellers? What products are in growth? Find out the latest data to ensure you stock everything you need.
Find the right products
How you lay out your products can mean the difference between a sale and a lost customer. Follow these planograms to make sure your shelves are always ready.
Download the poster to keep this advice always in sight.
Understand the market
Expert insight and advice on the soft drinks market
Consumption Overview:
Understanding your target market is essential for building a strong business. It’s important to know who your customers are, what they want and when they want it. Make the most of your soft drinks category with the information and advice below:
Soft drinks has overtaken bread as the No.3 reason driving shoppers into c-stores
Soft drinks is the no.1 footfall driver to depots
Value of Soft Drinks Category in Total Impulse: £2.07bn (+1%)
Soft drinks is an incredibly dynamic category with a diverse customer base and a huge number of trends to cater for, which can sometimes make it a challenge to find the right product range for your depot. However, paying attention to the biggest trends will help you identify the key products you should be stocking, allowing you to fully take advantage of soft drinks sales opportunities available.
Key Trends
Seasonality
Seasonal trends have a key role to play within soft drinks, and the most successful wholesalers will always have one eye on the weather and be prepared to react quickly. Adjusting your range to cater for seasonal occasions with limited edition ranges, or to respond to changes in the weather, will enable you and your customers to respond and take advantage of seasonal soft drinks sales.
The weather should be an especially important consideration as segments geared towards hydration, such as Water or Water Plus (flavoured waters), the fourth biggest growth area in soft drinks, are often boosted by warmer weather. If you are not prepared for sunny spells, you may lose out on sales as customers seek out drinks that provide immediate refreshment on the go.
Events
Creating theatre with events is just as 
important in depot as it is in any store or outlet. Unique and eye-catching displays will help you grab the attention of customers and add excitement to your depot floor. Linking dynamic displays of soft drinks to key sporting events such as Wimbledon and Robinsons, or seasonal events like Christmas, can also create fantastic impact both visually and commercially, especially when you can connect them to a special deal or promotion.
Spotlight on sugar
In recent years, we have led the industry and taken bold steps to help consumers make healthier choices. In fact, we removed all added sugar from Fruit Shoot in 2014, making it the No.1 No Added Sugar Kids brand2. We also removed all full sugar variants of Robinsons in 2015, cementing our place as the No.1 Squash brand.
In addition, since 2005, all advertising in relation to Pepsi has led with sugar-free Pepsi Max. Today, with over two-thirds of our value sales coming from low or no sugar variants4, Britvic is the leading supplier of low calorie soft drinks in GB and Ireland, selling more low calorie drinks than any other soft drinks company. As the spotlight continues to shine on health, it’s crucial that you promote choice within your depot by offering healthier soft drinks alongside more traditional offerings.
Now that you understand how the market works, it’s time to get to know the category. Are you stocking the right products and displaying them in the best way possible?
Know the category
Top tips and examples of good practice
Key Facts
Following a less is more approach by streamlining your range, including the top selling brands in each sub-category, will simplify the shopping process for your customers, while increasing sales at the same time.
Top sub-category by growth:
- Smoothies
- Plain water
- Traditional mixers
- Water plus
- Cold hot drinks
Top 5 brands in soft drinks:
- Coca Cola
- Pepsi
- Lucozade
- Red Bull
- Robinsons
Top 5 brands in total impulse:
- Coca Cola
- Lucozade
- Red Bull
- Pepsi
- Volvic
Top tips to finding the right range for you
Are you stocking the right products and marketing them in the best way possible? Below are three top tips from the industry leaders on making the most of your range.
1. Core range
Make sure you’re stocking a core range of leading brands from each segment as a minimum in order to respond to the growing trends in the category.
2. Regional variations
Stocking a core range of top-selling products is essential, it is important to tailor your range according to your customer base. Review your sales data to see what sells well in your area, and stock lines accordingly to respond to the needs of your customers specifically.
3. NPD
Just like consumers, your customers want to see something new and exciting on offer in depot. However, they tend to shop on autopilot, and most will have a shopping list prepared well before reaching your depot. Stocking NPD in eye-catching displays on the depot floor is a sure fire way to grab the attention of these customers and drive incremental sales.
Convenience Planogram
Consider what your customers are stocking to ensure that you are offering the right ranges to meet their needs.
Now that you understand how the category works, it’s time to get up to date on the latest products. What are the newest releases and are you stocking them?
Find the right products
Stock the right products to ensure high profits
Latest Products
Keep up to date with the latest products to ensure your stock stays refreshed and you’re ahead of the competition.
Latest Campaigns
Watch the videos below to keep up to date with the latest Britvic campaigns.
Robinsons Fruit Shoot, the UK’s no. 1 No Added Sugar soft drink brand for children , has launched a new campaign entitled It’s My Thing, celebrating children doing what they’re passionate about and inspiring parents to support kids in finding their ‘thing’.
Soft drink brand J₂O has returned to TV screens with a playful new commercial. The campaign includes three different executions which showcase the core range, as well as its carbonated variant, J₂O Spritz, in a party atmosphere.
More info & advice
If you would like more information or advice, why not check out the videos of Britvic’s work with AF Blakemore below. Or, use the contact form to get in touch.
More advice
Britvic has worked with AF Blakemore to identify basic merchandising principles to improve ‘shopability’ and reduce SKU count. This also makes stockholding easier to manage at a depot level, which is incredibly important for keeping costs done. Understanding how the market is evolving is vital to decide what to stock.
Talking regularly to your suppliers can be mutually beneficial. Britvic uses wholesaler feedback to respond to the market: improved price-marked pack ranging, smaller pack sizes, more competitive promotions.
Category segmentation is hugely important in depot. Arrange soft drinks for different consumer groups: kids (eg Fruit Shoot, Capri Sun, Vimto); Family (eg Robinsons); and adult (eg Pepsi and 7UP 330ml).
Partnering with suppliers can help you optimise the category. A F Blakemore is currently refreshing its partnership with Britvic through its joint business plan. “We’re ensuring that when we do promote, we’re promoting the right products that are customer centric and are from our core range or NPD,” says Richard Harman, Trading Director for Blakemore Wholesale.
Learn more
Contact us to find out in what other ways we can work together to help you improve your soft drinks category.
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