The soft drinks category is worth £3.3bn within the convenience channel1 and soft drinks appear in 1 out of 4 shopper baskets.2 But what are the trends leading people to top up their baskets in 2025?
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1. Flavour innovation
Flavour, indulgence, and price drive soft drink purchases. Shoppers seek bold, adventurous flavours, creating opportunities for retailers to offer unique products.
Top Tips:
- Tango are leading the charge, with their rotational flavour series, which stand out in store and grab customer attention. Ensure you stock Tango’s newest flavour launching in February 2025 - Tango Strawberry Smash!
- Rockstar Energy are also leading the way with flavour innovation in the energy space, watch out for Rockstar Peach, sugar free also launching in February!
2. Health-conscious consumers
More than half (58%) want healthier soft drinks, and 65% of regular carbonated drink consumers would buy more if they had added health benefits.4 This trend is especially strong among Gen Z
Top Tips:
- Wellbeing shots is a rapidly growing category, worth £38.6 million and expected to grow by 46% by 2025.5 The Plenish range appeals to the health-conscious shopper their range of shots and juices.
- Stocking soft drinks that contain natural ingredients, taste great but also have added benefits is key. The Purdey’s Natural Energy range includes drinks containing minerals, B Vitamins, ginseng and guarana to help people rejuvenate, refocus and re-energise.
3. Low & No
Soft drinks are now more popular than alcohol.6 The growing demand for low and non-alcoholic drinks shows that people are drinking more mindfully. Retailers have a big chance to attract more customers by offering low and no-alcohol options, appealing to those looking for healthier choices and new options
Top Tips:
- The new range of J2O Mocktails are a must-stock for any retailer that’s looking to appeal to shoppers on hunting for premium alcohol alternatives.
4. Staying home is the new going out
Amid cost-of-living concerns, shoppers are choosing to stay at home instead of going out7 This presents huge opportunities for convenience retailers that can position their food and drink ranges at people looking to enjoy big nights in with friends and family.
Top Tips:
- Try promoting larger formats and multipacks of ever-popular fizzy drinks such as Pepsi MAX® or Tango Orange Sugar Free, adult soft drinks like J2O or Britvic Mixers, paired with party snacks to help those nights go off with a bang.
5. On-the-go
The demand for on-the-go soft drinks has grown.8 As people look for convenient meal options throughout the day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner solutions are a big opportunity for retailers. Many are looking for quick and satisfying options.
Top Tips:
- 20% of all food-to-go missions in convenience are for breakfast9 so why not pair croissants or porridge pots with a Jimmy’s Iced Coffee to maximise spend in the mornings.
- For the lunchtime crowd, focus on meal deals with a variety of soft drink options or a Rockstar for those looking for an afternoon energy boost.
6. On-demand delivery
On-demand delivery is growing among store-based retailers, with about 6,500 convenience stores (14% of the UK total) offering home delivery in 2024.10 Rapid delivery meets the need for small orders and competes for convenience spending as people spend more time at home.
Top Tips:
- Partner with delivery services to tap into demand, keeping brand promotions and deals prominent on apps and in-store.
- Offer drink and food bundles to capture various moments throughout the day and add value for customers.
1 Lumina Intelligence Convenience Tracking Programme – 52 w/e 08.01.23 – 07.01.24
2 Lumina Intelligence Convenience Tracking Program, 52 we 08.01.2023 and 07.01.2024
3 NielsenIQ RMS, Total Coverage including discounters, Value sales/Value sales % chg, Fruit Carbonates, Britvic Defined, Latest 52 wks w/e 09.03.24
4 Britvic Soft Drinks Review 2024
5 Nielsen IQ RMS, Total Coverage, Juice Shots Category (as defined by Britvic) Value Sales Data, Based on Last 5 years data to 26.10.24
6 IGD Research 2024.
7 Kantar Profiles/Mintel, August 2024
8 Lumina Intelligence Tracking Programme – 52 w/e 08.01.23 – 07.01.24
9 Kantar WPO Out of Home Forecourts 52 w/e 18/02/2024
10 IGD Research, Tesco.com, Snappyshpper.co.uk
