Soda has become sweeter – Newspaper Kommersant No. 6 (7451) of 16.01.

The stoppage of production of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in Russia has led to a sharp reduction in the segment of carbonated drinks without sugar. Over the year, in-kind sales of such products decreased by almost 10%, and their share fell to 8.5% of the market. Demand for sugar-free drinks has spurred the marketing of the biggest players, but companies are now focusing primarily on the most popular, i.e. sweet, items.

In the 12 months to November 2022, sales of sugar-free carbonated drinks in Russia decreased by 9.8% year-on-year, according to NielsenIQ data. In money terms, sales increased by 3.6% due to rising prices. For comparison, the turnover of all carbonated drinks during this period decreased by 1.8% in volume and increased by 15.9% in money terms. As a result, the market share of sugar-free beverages has fallen to around 8.5%.

In the previous period, carbonated drinks without sugar, on the contrary, showed a positive trend. According to NielsenIQ, from November 2020 to November 2021, sales of such products in volume grew by 10.7%, and in money terms by 19.9% ​​year-on-year, which was comparable to the performance of all carbonated drinks.

According to the interlocutor of “Kommersant” in the market, the trend is associated with a reduction in the presence in Russia of the two largest manufacturers.

In March 2022, after the outbreak of military operations of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Coca-Cola announced the suspension of activities, and PepsiCo announced the refusal to spill Pepsi, Mirinda and 7Up. Multon Partners (formerly Coca-Cola HBC) now produces carbonated drinks under the Dobry and Rich brands, while PepsiCo produces Evervess and Russkiy Dar. Multon Partners and PepsiCo declined to comment.

Lenta also attributed the decline in sales of sugar-free carbonated drinks to the departure of brands. The manufacturers that replaced them first released analogues of sugar-containing products, and sugar-free drinks began to be produced much later, the network explains. In the presentation of the Multon Partners assortment, the Dobry drink with the taste of sugar-free cola was announced only for November 2022. Chernogolovka Group of Companies (brands Fantola, Chillout, etc.) did not answer questions.

One of the founders of Famous Amazing Brands (Vanilla Flight and Anarchy) Anton Stelmakov says that large players developed sugar-free carbonated drinks as a more profitable product, investing in advertising and promotion in networks.

According to Mr. Stelmakov, sugar accounts for 20-30% of the cost of carbonated drinks, and its substitutes can cost several times less. However, now the largest players have reduced marketing costs and focused on the most popular positions, he said.

Maxim Novikov, President of the Union of Juice, Water and Drink Producers (“Soyuznapitki”), notes that crisis periods are generally characterized by an increase in the consumption of sugary foods, snacks and other products, which is why some consumers of carbonated drinks have probably switched from sugar-free products to a sweet version. .

Alexei Aksel, CEO of Volkovskaya Brewery (also produces lemonades under the Volchok brand), agrees that the number of fans of sugar-free carbonated drinks in Russia remains limited due to taste preferences. Fruit beer sales are also on the rise, driven by interest in sweeter-tasting drinks, he adds.

Alexey Popovichev, Executive Director of Rusbrand, notes that products positioned for healthy eating are still popular in Russia, and sugar-free carbonated drinks also have regular consumers, so if supply is restored, segment sales may increase again.

According to him, the main difficulty for manufacturers is to provide natural taste with zero calories, which not everyone succeeds.

The introduction of an excise tax on sugary drinks from July 1, 2023 in itself is unlikely to change the situation, Kommersant’s interlocutors believe. According to one of them, carbonated drinks without sugar should not be subject to the measure, but demand is a more important factor for the development of the segment.

Anatoly Kostyrev