Festive refreshment!
With unexpected visitors frequently popping in for a catch-up over the Christmas and New Year break, households are keen not to be caught out and will therefore want to have a good range of soft drinks on standby – not just for kids but for more sophisticated adult tastes too. Ensure your store doesn’t lose out by offering healthier choices as well as classic favourites, writes Gillian Hamill
Print19 November 2015
AT A GLANCE: SOFT DRINKS
- Irn-Bru is the number one flavoured carbonate brand (Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Vol Sales, MAT to 15.08.15, Total UK Impulse)
- Irn-Bru is currently growing at 15% in Ireland (Source: AG Barr Sales Data)
- Irn-Bru’s ‘Gets You Through’ advertising has generated over 10 million YouTube views with Irn-Bru being voted the UK’s number one digital brand for 2014 (Source: Social Brand 100 Index in conjunction with the Grocer)
- Ballygowan is Ireland’s original and most popular water brand (Source: Number one water brand: Nielsen Scantrack MAT October 15)
- Ballygowan has achieved 16% MAT in the last year alone (Source: Nielsen Scantrack MAT October 15)
- The Ballygowan Sparklingly Fruity range delivered a 12% share of the flavoured water market in the first 12 weeks on sale (Source: Nielsen Scantrack 4 week Value Share October 2015)
- Deep RiverRock is the number one branded bottled water across the island of Ireland (Source: Value MAT – Nielsen July /Aug 2015 Island of Ireland)
- 57% of Shloer’s annual sales are made during the 12-week festive period (Source: SHS Drinks internal sales data ROI multiple grocers 12w/e 04.01.15
- Shloer’s sales volume multiplies 10-fold during November and December (Source: SHS Drinks internal sales data ROI multiple grocers November/December 2014)
- The two biggest sellers in the Shloer range are White Grape and Red Grape which together accounted for around eight out of every 10 bottles of Shloer sold in the off-trade in Ireland last December (Source: SHS Drinks internal sales data ROI multiple grocers 4 w/e 03.01.15)
- Vit∙Hit is the fastest growing soft drinks brand in Ireland
Boosting Irish sales
Irn-Bru is available in both regular and sugar free variants
With Irn-Bru, the number one flavoured carbonate brand*, experiencing impressive growth in Ireland, the brand advises retailers to stock up to make the most of a huge sales opportunity.
“Irish consumers have really responded to Irn-Bru as its distribution has consistently increased,” says Gavan Morris, head of International for AG Barr. “The brand is currently growing at 15% in Ireland**, driving incremental category sales.”
A £6 million heavyweight marketing investment during 2015 has driven shopper demand for Irn-Bru. As part of this, AG Barr aired two TV commercials in Ireland during the summer.
“The popular ‘Gets You Through’ adverts are the most successful in Irn-Bru’s history,” says Morris.
“‘Gets You Through’ advertising has generated over 10 million YouTube views with Irn-Bru being voted the UK’s number one digital brand for 2014,*** engaging with consumers to drive brand awareness which provides a really strong platform for expansion,” he added.
This year Irn-Bru has also become the Official Soft Drink Partner of The English Football League, enhancing its rich heritage of sports sponsorship which already includes the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).
Irn-Bru has some strong activity lined up this Christmas when it will be will be running heavyweight digital and social media activity throughout December, including launching its first new Christmas advert in 10 years.
Irn-Bru’s Christmas activity brings with it a festive feel good factor which will continue to grow shopper demand in Ireland. The brand believes Irish retailers should stock up on both the regular and sugar free variants to make the most of this sales opportunity.
For trade enquiries, call 01-6250620.
*(Source: Nielsen Scantrack, Vol Sales, MAT to 15.08.15, Total UK Impulse)
**(Source: AG Barr Sales Data)
***(Source: Social Brand 100 Index in conjunction with the Grocer)
A clear favourite for Christmas
Ballygowan Sparklingly Fruity delivers a range of low calorie, low sugar natural mineral water drinks in a stylish can
Ballygowan is Ireland’s original and most popular water brand.* A commitment to quality and an innovative approach to engaging consumers has kept the brand at the top of the market throughout the decades and 2015 has been no exception with 16% in the last year alone.**
At the heart of Ballygowan is a proud Irish Heritage. All Ballygowan is bottled on site in a dedicated bottling facility in Newcastlewest drawing on an exclusive source deep underground which has been filtered by nature through mineral-rich limestone for 750 years.
This summer Ballygowan has built on its wide range with the launch of Ballygowan Sparklingly Fruity – a range of low calorie, low sugar natural mineral water drinks in a stylish can. Available in singles and six-packs in three flavours: Apple Elderflower & Lemon, Raspberry & Blackberry and Lemon & Mint. Already the range has proved a hit with consumers, delivering a 12% share of the flavoured water market in the first 12 weeks on sale.***
The brand advises retailers to make sure you’re stocked up with the full Ballygowan range to meet all your consumers’ needs this Christmas.
*(Source: Number one water brand: Nielsen Scantrack MAT October 15)
**(Source: Nielsen Scantrack MAT October 15)
***(Source: Nielsen Scantrack 4 week Value Share October 2015).
Deep discussion!
Deep RiverRock is locally sourced from deep beneath a glacial valley in Co. Antrim. This indigenous brand is the number one branded bottled water across Ireland (Value MAT)*. Deep RiverRock launched its new graphics in 2015 to modernise the packs and improve standout on shelf. Deep RiverRock also successfully launched its new 1 litre sports bottle in May 2015 and a new Deep RiverRock Strawberry still flavoured water in a 500ml bottle which provides a new tasty and sugar free option for water drinkers.
With a pack and variant for every occasion, Deep RiverRock continues its mission to keep the nation hydrated. Just a 2% drop in hydration levels will slow your body and mind, and take your eye off the ball.
2015 also saw Deep RiverRock launch its Facebook and Twitter platforms which was supported by the ultimate online game to test your hydration levels. Developed to support the launch of Deep RiverRock’s new Facebook and Twitter pages, the game can be played by consumers at their desk or on the go via mobile or tablet. It consists of a series of fun challenges to test mental sharpness, and encourage ‘thirsty brains’ to top up on their hydration levels with Deep RiverRock bringing the brand’s key message to life – ‘When You Can’t Think Straight…Hydrate’. This, coupled with a highly effective digital campaign, has ensured that Deep RiverRock is front of mind for the water consumer.
Deep RiverRock continues to lead the hydration message, and its importance in combatting mental and physical fatigue, through strong partnerships as Official Hydration Partner to the four proud rugby provinces – Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht and Title Sponsor of The Belfast City Marathon.
Deep RiverRock has more exciting news brand coming up in 2016.
*(Source: AC Nielsen July /Aug 2015 Island of Ireland)
Making festive soft drink sales sparkle
Shloer’s sales volume multiples 10-fold during November and December, demonstrating how popular the brand is at Christmas
“There’s a big opportunity for retailers to grow adult soft drink (ASD) sales this Christmas if they put more focus on ASDs both in terms of the range they stock and how they promote ASDs in-store,” says Amanda Grabham, marketing director – Soft Drinks at SHS Drinks whose portfolio includes Shloer.
Grabham points to the fact that 57% of Shloer’s annual sales are in the 12-week festive period* and that Shloer sales volume multiplies 10-fold during November and December** to demonstrate how big a role Shloer plays in the Christmas shopping mission and how important it is to re-balance the festive soft drinks fixture to give more space to ASD brands
“Being grape-based, Shloer is very much the no-alcohol alternative to wine. It is the adult soft drinks brand which consumers purchase when they are socialising and entertaining at home which is why it sells particularly well over the Christmas period.”
Grabham adds: “The two biggest sellers in the Shloer range are White Grape and Red Grape which together accounted for around eight out of every 10 bottles of Shloer sold in the off-trade in Ireland last December,*** so these two lines are absolute ‘must stocks’. However, because of the popularity of the Shloer brand at Christmas it’s also worth considering expanding the range of flavours on offer over the festive season as well as including lines such as the new lower-calorie Shloer Light Red Grape and White Grape, and Shloer Celebration Pink Fizz and White Bubbly variants.
The two Shloer Celebration lines have both been given a contemporary new makeover in the lead up to the festive party season.
Shloer will also be engaging with consumers to create some festive fun and excitement by teaming up with celebrity behaviourial psychologist and body language expert Jo Hemmings to explore the art of popping a bottle cork and what the way you open a bottle of bubbly says about you. The ‘Which Popping Profile Are You?’ quiz will be bought to life through social media and consumer PR during November and December.
SHS Sales & Marketing, which distributes the brand in Ireland, will also be supporting all of the Shloer range line with a wide range of tailor-made activity ranging from promotional stock offers to providing Shloer-branded free-standing display units enabling retailers to increase the amount of display space and cope with the upsurge in demand for the brand.
For sales enquiries, contact SHS Sales & Marketing on +353 (0) 1 4016200.
*(Source: SHS Drinks internal sales data ROI multiple grocers 12w/e 04.01.15
**(Source: SHS Drinks internal sales data ROI multiple grocers November/December 2014
***(Source: SHS Drinks internal sales data ROI multiple grocers 4 w/e 03.01.15
A massive Hit!
Vit Hit addresses the consumer trend for healthy drinks, that don’t add unnecessary sugar to their diets
It’s official! Vit Hit is the fastest growing soft drinks brand in Ireland. It appears that consumers are sending a message, and according to the brand, it’s loud and clear, ‘sugar is dead, long live the vitamin!’ The unprecedented growth of Vit Hit, from small indigenous Irish brand to mainstream player is testament to the turnaround in the needs of the Irish consumer. Gary Lavin, founder of Vit Hit says: “Health is on a huge growth curve in Ireland and across the globe, just look at the amount of people jogging and cycling on their way home from work, the massive increase in gym memberships, the growth spurt of healthy cafes across our cities. These people don’t want extra unnecessary sugar in their diets, they want clean, low calorie food and drinks and Vit Hit is at the forefront of this revolution.”
Vit Hit is a market leader in health in the soft drink sector and has now become a staple in many people’s routine. With 100% of eight vitamins, three cups of healthy teas and less than 35 calories per bottle, Vit Hit certainly packs a healthy punch.
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