Coca-Cola loses 2012 UK soft drinks share to Pepsi

Coca-Cola lost UK volume share in 2012, while Pepsi grew both its volume and value share and Lucozade and Red Bull’s success reflected growing consumer interest in functional drinks.

So says UK soft drinks giant and Pepsi bottler Britvic, in its newly released 2013 Soft Drinks Review, which reports Coca-Cola sales (all variants) up 0.8% to £1.15bn ($1.737bn) but volumes down 3.3%.

“Coca-Cola continued to invest the most in advertising and marketing in the soft drinks market, particularly with its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics, although this did not lead to the sales uplift which was expected,” the report states.

Conversely, Britvic said that Pepsi enjoyed a particularly strong 2012 (value and volume sales up 7.4% and 10% respectively to £352m and 471.2m liters), “driven by a highly effective marketing and promotional strategy”.

Dramatic growth in energy/sports

Britvic’s report notes UK value sales of £7.21bn (up 2.8%) and volume sales of 6.97bn liters (down 0.8%) in 2012 (52 weeks ending December 29), which it describes as a “steady performance and considerably better than the declines seen in many other FMCG categories during 2012”.

In the pub (bar) and clubs sector (worth £2.73bn), energy/sports drinks continued to grow rapidly, with value sales of £193m up 29% on 2011, and volumes up 19% “underlining the dramatic growth of these drinks”.

“With mixed drinks such as vodka and Red Bull proving popular with younger consumers in particular, the sub-category effectively forged a position of appeal during morning, daytime and evening occasions,” the report said.

It added that Red Bull remained the biggest on trade brand – Red Bull value sales were up 6.7% to £235.8m in the off trade – but Monster and Relentless boosted 2012 sales due to a greater presence.

Red Bull targets Brazil, Japan, Korea, South Korea...

Energy drink global market leader Red Bull recently announced that it sold 5.226bn cans in 2012, while turnover increased 15.9% to £4.93bn, as it targets growth in Brazil, Japan, India, South Korea.

“In terms of sales, revenues, productivity and operating profit, the figures recorded were the best in the company’s history so far,” Red Bull said.

The company attributed its success to sales up in South Africa (52%), Japan (51%), Saudi Arabia (38%), France (2%), the US (17%) and Germany (14%), as well as efficient cost management and ongoing brand investment.

“In terms of further expansion, Red Bull is targeting the core markets of Western Europe and the US, and the growth markets of Brazil, Japan, India and South Korea, while also focusing on the rollout of Red Bull Editions.”

At the end of 2012, Red Bull said it employed 8966 staff in 165 countries, as against 8294 in 164 (2011).

A Red Bull spokeswoman told BeverageDaily.com this morning that an Austrian investigation into attempts to blackmail the company, by threatening to contaminate cans with fecal matter, was still ongoing.

Britvic's 2012 UK soft drinks market review is available to read here.