SOFT DRINK SALES TOP 10BN FOR THE FIRST TIME

- Grocery and convenience sales account for over three quarters of category value at 7.5bn -

According to the Britvic Soft Drinks Review, published today, soft drinks has once again emerged triumphant. With other categories in FMCG continuing to decline in the wake of the challenging economic backdrop, soft drinks value sales grew steadily in 2013, rising by 2% to take the category over the 10bn mark for the first time .
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Faring considerably better than other FMCG categories, soft drinks were buoyed by the spectacular summer and boosted by multiple trends, such as the demand for value-for-money, brands, premium products and healthier propositions, which continued to cement its versatility and relevancy amongst consumers.
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Top line headlines from the review, based on independent Nielsen (w/e 28 December 2013) and CGA Strategy (w/e 28 December 2013) market data, include:
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Total market sales totalled 10.3bn Grocery and convenience sales reached 7.5bn, growing by 4% in value and 2% volume Cola remained the categorys star performer with value sales totalling more than 1.6bn Highest growth came from cold hot drinks with value sales rising by 43% Glucose and energy drinks grew ahead of the category with a 7% increase in value sales Private label sales dipped slightly as consumers favoured trusted brand names

Driven by the demand for value-for-money propositions for at-home entertaining and stock-up shopping, the grocery channel remained the largest accounting for more than three quarters of all soft drinks value, with sales totalling over 5.6bn. However, the convenience sector experienced the strongest growth, with value and volume sales both rising by 5%, indicating that consumers were increasingly looking to purchase soft drinks as part of on-the-go consumption occasions.

Value-for-money remained a core purchase driver and although consumers carried on spending carefully, they continued to choose brand names over private label options, viewing them as an affordable and

Total Market Nielsen (w/e 28th December 2013) and CGA Strategy (w/e 28th December 2013)

trusted treat. Soft drinks also benefitted from the growing consumer trend for premiumisation, with many new premium brands emerging as star performers within the categorys sub-segments. Paul Graham, General Manager at Britvic Soft Drinks, commented: Whilst other categories within FMCG have been affected by the continued trend for cautious spending, soft drinks performed extremely well in 2013. The grocery and convenience channel remains key to soft drinks development, with grocery accounting for the majority of all value sales and convenience experiencing the strongest value sales growth. Shaped by multiple consumer trends, such as value, premiumisation, heath and convenience, we have seen a wealth of innovation hit the market, all of which has helped to keep the sector relevant and exciting amongst a diverse audience. This combined with an unpredicted summer of sunshine; its unsurprising for the first time the category topped the 10bn mark. We are confident that this successful performance and the continued evolution of the category is paving the way for a positive and exciting future.

WINNING SUB-CATEGORIES WITHIN GROCERY, CONVENIENCE AND IMPULSE

Cola Cola continued to be the categorys star performer with value sales totalling more than 1.6bn. Coca -Cola and Pepsi remained the nations favourites, growing their value share. Tapping into on-the-go and top-up occasions, a credible performance came from the convenience channel, where cola sales grew by 3% in value.

Glucose and energy drinks Continuing to grow ahead of the category, glucose and energy drinks retained its position as third biggest within soft drinks, increasing total grocery and convenience value sales by 7%. The segment held the largest value share of all sub-categories within the convenience sector, making the sub-category bigger than cola for a second year running, and demonstrating the need for energy-boosting solutions when onthe-go.

Cold hot drinks For the fourth year running cold hot drinks had the highest growth. Offering an inexpensive and unique treat, the segment saw value and volume sales rise by more than 43%, driven by brands including Lipton Ice Tea.

Best of the rest

After being held back during the early stages of the recession, the water segment cemented its return to growth in 2013. Plain water saw the highest growth within the segment, with value sales climbing by 13% to 573m, whilst water plus grew by 8% in value. Juice drinks remained one of the categorys success stories, experiencing overall value growth of 12%. Both value and volume sales grew in grocery; however the impulse channel saw vast sales peaks making it the second fastest-growing sub-segment.

Squash performance remained consistent, with value sales increasing by 4% on last year with Robinsons retaining its number one position.

Fruit flavoured carbonates such as Tango and Fanta experienced growth across both grocery and convenience, whilst sales of private label brands fell slightly.

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For further press information, please contact: Hannah Kenward at Publicasity 0207 632 2411 / britvic@publicasity.co.uk

All reader enquiries should be directed to: Customer Services, Britvic Soft Drinks on 0845 7581781

Notes to Editors:

Sources Unless otherwise stated, all data is either: Nielsen (w/e 28 December 2013) CGA (w/e 28 December 2013) All growth figures are based on the Soft Drinks Review 2013
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The review is based on independent data and insight from UK soft drinks experts. The Grocery, Convenience & Impulse data is supplied by Nielsen and the data supplied by CGA represents pubs and clubs whilst also covering topline data on hotels, restaurants and leisure channels.

About Britvic Britvic Soft Drinks is one of the UKs leading soft drinks manufacturers and is dedicated to creating and building brands such as Pepsi, Robinsons, Tango and J 2O into household names. Operating in both the

Take Home and On-Premise markets, it is the largest supplier of branded still soft drinks and the number two supplier of branded carbonates. The company offers its customers a portfolio of soft drinks to meet every consumer occasion and need and has a strong track record of delivering successful innovation.