Softly softly to bring in Christmas cash

Pubs stand to make an extra £25m this Christmas if they embark on a three-pronged plan to encourage people to consume more soft drinks. Sue Garfitt, Britvic's director of category planning, said the strategies, which were the result of research undertaken by the soft drinks manufacturer, are based on three key purchasing opportunities. These are: premiumisation ­ encouraging people to trade up to a better drink, such as a premium packaged type; frequency ­ encouraging people to buy a soft drink every time they visit a pub, particularly food-led outlets; and volume ­ offering larger serves, especially with draught drinks, increases consumers' perception of value. Garfitt added: "These new strategies open up, at least, a £25m profit opportunity in the on-premise soft drinks category in the near future. By working together with Britvic to translate these strategies into tailored long-term tactics, individual licensees can grab their share of year-round category growth." Britvic intends to reinforce the message with an advertising campaign promoting its threekey brands ­ J2O, Amé and Fruit Shoot. Last Christmas, on-trade soft drinks' sales topped £500m ­ an increase of 4% over the previous year. Garfitt said licensees should keep the soft drinks' sales drive going well into the next year because research showed that 30% of adult alcohol consumers cut down their alcoholic consumption and switched to soft drinks, with half of these continuing for up to three months.