'Daytime at Home': Coca-Cola Enterprises spies ‘largely untapped’ $308m sales opportunity

In its new report, ‘See the Opportunity’, Coke’s anchor bottler in Western Europe identifies six largely untapped gaps in the Great British (GB) soft drinks market, of which ‘Daytime at Home’ is one, that if targeted astutely could grow the category by significantly over that period.

“We believe that…we can grow the category by £2.1bn over the next five years. It’s a big ambition, and one that we feel is challenging yet achievable,”​ the report authors write.

Some of this growth can be attributed to ‘organic’ factors such as population growth and market dynamics, but £793m of this can be achieved if we can achieve consumption.”​

Basing this £793 figure (taken from CCE internal research) on increasing consumption by one extra soft drink per household per week over the next five years, the firm then reveals its strategies for “unlocking this growth”​, which follow below.

1. Daytime at Home: £311m (25% of £793m)​

CCE identifies soft drink consumption in the home as a "largely​ untapped​" market, since most common non-alcoholic beverages consumed there are tap water or hot drinks.

CCE's sees its challenge thus: "How to encourage people to shake up their daily routine and consider the alternatives, rather than automatically defaulting to their habitual choice of drink?”​

Him!'s Convenience Tracking Programme found that 14% of consumers plan to be more healthy by drinking more water, and CCE has identified this motivation as an opportunity to promote "refreshing, healthy and tasty alternatives​" among soft drinks.

They key here, CCE states, is reminding consumers to buy in advance for these home occasions.

2. Better Working Day: £173m (22%)​

CCE's report identifies consumption of soft drinks during the work day by 19-49s as potential growth area. This includes workers enjoying drinks with their meal, and also outside their lunch break. (72% of office beverage consumption happens at the desk, according to Kantar Worldpanel research.)

CCE's own research found that 50% of drinks consumed in the workplace are bought there, so ensuring staff are able to buy a range of choices onsite could help unlock value in this market.

3. Live Life on the Go: £163m (21%)​

Him! found that 58% of people buying refreshments from convenience outlets enter only to purchase a drink, leading CCE to conclude that store layout changes could help drive soft drinks sales, with clearer shelf messages, for instance.

CCE's internal research found that 52% of people buying fuel at a petrol station only buy fuel, with consumers often in a hurry, so purchases could be increased if “visibility and speed of transaction”​ was improved in regard to soft drinks.

4. Complete the Meal: £127m (16%)​

At breakfast, CCE identifies an opportunity to "make soft drinks, like smoothies, juices and other on-the-go products, part of [a consumer’s] morning ritual in the same way as tea or coffee​".

For other mealtimes, weekends are identified as a time when the ‘treat’ aspect of soft drinks had greater acceptability. CCE said that in supermarkets, "cross-merchandising with appropriate meal solutions — perhaps a permanent ‘meal for the weekend’ fixture​", could be lucrative strategies.

5. Ready to Relax: £76m (9%)​

The report authors advocate encouraging adults to "consider soft drinks as part of their evening wind-down-at-home routine​".

While in Great Britain, the report states, there are now no soft drinks aimed specifically at this relaxation market, countries including Japan and the US have seen great success with melatonin-containing products.

Such products were useful at home in the early or late evening, to encourage relaxation and as a functional sleep aid, the authors add, noting that the US market for such melatonin-based drinks is expected to exceed 300m liters by 2014 (Reuters).

6. Best Social Mix: £52m (7%)​

“Soft drinks and socializing go hand in hand,”​ the report states, suggesting there is room for growth in the consumption of non-alcohol drinks in social settings, particularly among teenagers.

Meanwhile, for adults, soft drinks compete with hot drinks in the daytime and alcohol by night, but can still offer a viable alternative if they are available and visible, CCE adds.

“Within this opportunity, there is headroom for growth, even when fixing the basics such as range and offer. For example, 60% of the main purchasers in coffee shops are female and have rated the choice of soft drinks as below average,”​ the authors write.

CCE's full report, 'See the Opportunity', can be viewed here​.