Soft & Hot Drinks

High five: we twist the G&T

In association with Diageo

5 twists on the classic gin and tonic

By Nicholas Robinson

Look at these five twists on the classic gin and tonic, perfect for summer cocktail menus, which can add a touch of excitement to your offer.

Trade fears: ALMR says health legislation should not hit pubs

ALMR: obesity solutions should not burden operators

By Nikkie Sutton

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) has reiterated its message that the trade is keen to help tackle childhood obesity but without the burden falling on licensees.

Not so soft: soft drinks are good business for pubs

Britvic to pass on cost of sugar levy to customers

By Nicholas Robinson

Soft drinks giant Britvic, the manufacturer of products including Pepsi, will pass the cost of the sugar levy on to its customers, GB managing director Paul Graham has confirmed.

Health: consumer trends have helped soft drinks rise

Category update

Soft drinks are on the up

By Nikkie Sutton

The soft drinks category has seen a rise in volume and value according to statistics from CGA Strategy.

Nick Yates: Vimto ready to go big in the on-trade

Vimto poised to make big push into pubs

By Nicholas Robinson

Soft-drinks maker and distributor Nichols is set to make a bigger push of its brands, including Vimto and Feel Good, into the pub trade.

Tim Martin: price cuts will demonstrate potential effect of VAT cut on hospitality sector

JD Wetherspoon to slash 7.5% off food and drink at 900+ pubs

By Daniel Woolfson

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) chairman Tim Martin will hack 7.5% off all food and drink prices for one day across his 900+ pub estate later this year to demonstrate the effect a VAT cut could have on the hospitality industry. 

Business begins: Martin Dickie (left) and James Watt created BrewDog in 2007

A timeline: how BrewDog became what it is today

By Nikkie Thatcher

From its conception with two employees and a dog in 2007 to its global success of today, The Morning Advertiser sets out the history of BrewDog – warts and all.

Boom: craft soda sales 'set to explode'

Craft soda maker lands big Greene King deal

By Nicholas Robinson

Fledgling independent craft soda maker Dalston’s has landed a contract to supply 150 Greene King pubs in London, a sign the segment is primed to “blow up”.

Soft drinks: little mix can pay off big

Soft drinks: little mix can pay off big

By Nikkie Sutton

The rise in popularity of soft drinks isn’t just down to thirsty designated drivers or those on a health kick. It is the flavour they provide in cocktails and mixed drinks that is helping the category push on.

Not canned: Coke has a role to play in a 'craft' market

How will Coke stay relevant in a craft world?

By Nicholas Robinson

A rise in the number of ‘craft’ soft drinks products on the market – an already roaring trend in beer, cider and spirits – won’t pose an immediate threat to Coca-Cola and is likely to lead to more innovation in the sector.

Trendy: five things to consider to boost soft drinks sales

5 trends to boost soft drinks sales

By Nicholas Robinson

There are five key trends pubs should consider to boost their soft drinks sales and take advantage of the rising number of teetotal consumers in the UK, according to a leading expert.

Yes they can: Franklin & Sons' new can format

Franklin & Sons’ new cans

By Nicholas Robinson

Soft drinks maker Franklin & Sons has extended its mixers range with new cans in response to increased consumer demand for spirits.

Sweet investment: money has been pumped into Coca-Cola Zero Sugar marketing

Coke Zero reveals £4.5m ad campaign

By Nicholas Robinson

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar will be at the centre of a multimillion-pound advertising campaign to emphasise its low-sugar, but Coca-Cola Classic taste, credentials.

Off the wagon: men aren't supportive of women's choice to drink less

Health

Men push women off #DryJanuary wagon

By Nicholas Robinson

Men are more likely to push their female partners off the #DryJanuary wagon, goad them into breaking healthy drinking plans and consume more alcohol than the other way round.

Drinks trends for 2017

Drinks predictions

What 2017 has in store for the drinks category

By Nikkie Sutton

Last year was a mixed bag for the pub trade, from the shockwaves following the ‘Leave’ vote of the EU referendum, to the heavily delayed pubs code and the anguish at the appointment of the US president-elect Donald Trump.

The Drinks List: Top 100 Brands

The Drinks List: Top 100 Brands

By Nicholas Robinson

Drinking habits are changing as consumers are faced with more choice than ever, but in The Morning Advertiser's Drinks List: Top 100 Brands, there is a positive story showing a healthy mix of the long-established mainstream brands sitting alongside...

Coca-Cola Designated Driver

Designated Driver

Go soft or go home

By Nicholas Robinson

Designated drivers amongst a group of Christmas revellers can boost the dwell time of the whole party as well as their spend, here we explore how to give the drivers just as good a time as the drinkers.

For better or for worse: how Scotland's new drink-drive limit has changed the pub trade

Designated Driver

How Scotland’s drink-drive law has changed pubs

By Phil Mellows

Scotland’s lower drink drive limits have had a profound effect on the pub trade, leaving a significant amount of sites with a decline in trade. Has this led to a crisis or opened up opportunities for change? Phil Mellows reports

Inside the New Queen Inn

Designated Driver

Inside the New Queen Inn

By Liam Coleman

Since taking on Dorset pub the New Queen Inn in early 2016, licensee Will Everingham and his wife, Lorraine, have put their own stamp on the site by developing both its interior and its soft-drink offer

Typical Glasgow pub Rab Ha's

Designated Driver

Inside Rab Ha’s

By Liam Coleman

Rab Ha’s is named after a 19th-century lover of great food and drink. Manager Karen Pringle talks about how the site now aims to deliver great food and drink for the 21st century

New Inn, Sandwich, Kent, is one of 20 Thorley Taverns sites

Designated Driver

Inside Thorley Taverns

By Liam Coleman

Christmas may be a time for groups of revellers to let their hair down and party like there’s no tomorrow, but it also a time for licensees and pub operators to face up to their responsibilities and reward the designated drivers in those parties with...

Soft options: pairing food and soft drinks works well

Designated Driver

Food and soft drink pairing

By Andrew Don

No one bats an eyelid when wines are paired with specific dishes, and it should be no different with soft drinks. Andrew Don reports

Best of the booze-free beers

Designated Driver

The rise of alcohol-free beer

By Nikkie Sutton and Jane Peyton

They may have endured snide remarks and sidelong glances in the past, but low and no-ABV beers are enjoying a renaissance on the back of the current trend towards healthier living Nikkie Sutton and Jane Peyton report

Swap shop: how to swap alcohol for softs

Designated Driver

Soft swaps for alcoholic drinks

By Sara Hussein and Jane Peyton

This month, the on-trade will witness the highest sales of alcohol compared with the rest of the year. Can soft drinks equal the likes of beer, spirits and Champagne, or are they likely to wane during the festive cheer? Sara Hussein and Jane Peyton report

European Adventurer: Rob Harris moved to GB from the Netherlands

Designated Driver

Coke boss talks sugar levy and new products

By Nicholas Robinson

From the long-running Designated Driver campaign to the sugar levy proposal, Rob Harris has plenty on his plate as the ‘new boy’ at Coca-Cola European Partners

'It's much like marathon training'

Designated Driver

Embrace the soft drink opportunities afforded by Christmas

By Guest Editor, CCEP's Paul Grace

Well it’s been quite a year, with Leicester City winning the Premier League, Trump’s election, the Referendum and the biggest upset of all, Danny Baker being the first out of the jungle.

Getting better: Alcohol-free beer is progressing

Designated driver

Revisiting ‘near beer’ category

By Pete Brown

Are brewers finally managing to create no and low-alcohol beers that are genuinely palatable, rather than the curate’s egg we have endured for so many years before?

Good or bad? Drink-drive related crimes are reducing

Designated Driver

Death by drink driving: changing a nation

By Nicholas Robinson

The festivities around Christmas are always tempered by warnings about the dangers of drinking and driving, and the mayhem it can cause to the lives of victims and perpetrators alike. But there is an underlying message of hope behind the grim stats –...

Drinks Trends: big categories this year and what is to come

Drinks trends

Drinks Trends: what was big in 2016 and what is to come

By Nikkie Sutton

We all know that gin and craft beer are the big movers and shakers in drinks trends right now. But what else is making the ground move for licensees, and what’s around the corner?

Not so soft: some pubs are making a mint from soft drinks sales

In association with CCEP

How important are soft drinks to pubs?

By Nicholas Robinson

A quarter of sales come from soft drinks in many pubs, The Morning Advertiser (MA) has learned during a Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) Pub & Bar Tour. Here, we take a look at the pubs and bars making a mint from softs.

Retro lads: the men behind Suede

In association with CCEP

Suede, Nottingham’s 1990s-themed bar

By Nicholas Robinson

A 1980s/90s retro theme is pulling in the punters to an eaterie in Nottingham, with Coca-Cola lending a hand with a neon sign and its iconic glass bottles.

Glasgow's club, bar and restaurant

In association with CCEP

The Òran Mór, Glasgow

By Nicholas Robinson

Sandy Gourlay knows a thing or two about catering for almost 2,000 customers on a busy night and has seen an ongoing uplift in soft drink sales at Glasgow pub Òran Mór.

How responsible are you? The Riverside promotes the Designated Driver Offer

In association with CCEP

How the Riverside pub in Avon works

By Nicholas Robinson

Putting a much stronger soft drinks offer in place has helped one operator in rural Avon encourage drivers to do the right thing on a night out.

New Queen Inn owner Will Everingham

In association with CCEP

Inside the New Queen Inn, Christchurch

By Nicholas Robinson

Destination pubs encounter problems not faced by others in built-up areas, but one operator based in deepest Dorset is using location to his advantage.

People relied on soft drinks as herbal remedies at one point in our history

In association with CCEP

How soft drinks started

By Nicholas Robinson

Softs have played an important role in society for centuries, but their history and value is too often overlooked. There’s a lot more to soft drinks than first meets the eye.

Sugar warning: pubs to be pressured into making food healthier

Legislation

Pubs to be ‘shamed’ into sugar reduction by Government

By Nicholas Robinson

Pubs and other food and drink-serving outlets will be "shamed" into reducing the sugar content of their food by the Government, warns health secretary Jeremy Hunt and Public Health England (PHE) chief executive Duncan Selbie.

Hot and spicy: Adding heat and spice to your soft drinks in the colder months will keep things current

Soft drinks

Soft drinks heat up for the winter

By Sara Hussein

Summer will soon be fading and punters are going to be looking for drinks to excite them in the colder, darker months. While the alcohol categories have this covered, soft drinks are often associated with the summer only. Here’s how to keep your soft...

Profit booster: reap the rewards of a premium drinks offer

Premium

Top-end tipples: premiumise your drinks offer

By Nicholas Robinson

With the premium drinks category now worth more to the on-trade than ever before, here’s how you can take stock of your offer and navigate the busy waters of products on offer, Michelle Perrett reports

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