Soft Drinks

brands news

Zeo re-launches low calorie soft drinks

17-Apr-2015 By Jessica Mason

Soft drinks brand Zeo is being re-launched with a new look and six new flavours.

Cawston Press doubles its premium soft drinks offer

13-Apr-2015 By Jessica Mason

Cawston Press is adding two new flavours, Elderflower Lemonade and Ginger Beer, to its 330ml canned range of premium sparkling soft drinks.

Managed and food-led pubs continue to boost soft drinks sales

27-Mar-2015 By Jessica Mason

The value of the soft drinks market to the leisure sector grew in 2014 at £4.2bn, with volumes increasing 0.5%, according to the Britvic Soft Drink Review 2015.

Pub sector profiles

Interview: Britvic's Nigel Paine

16-Mar-2015 By Jessica Mason

Nigel Paine is a man who is always looking to the future. Which is just as well in an industry that is increasingly innovating and searching for the next big thing. Jessica Mason reports.

Comment

Looking at the future through a soft-focus lens

12-Mar-2015 By Nigel Paine

There are only a few things in life I like more than a glass of red wine or a pint of ale.

BRAND NEWS

J2O goes posh with a new sparkling variant

19-Feb-2015 By Jessica Mason

Britvic is launching a lightly sparkling brand extension for its J₂O brand, named J₂O Spritz, in a bid to answer the demand for more excitement and choice in adult soft drinks.

Drinkers urge pubs to make soft drinks 'more visible'

30-Jul-2014 By John Harrington

Almost two thirds (61%) of carbonated soft drink (CSD) consumers believe pubs, bars and restaurants should make such drinks more visible to consumers, says new research that suggests people are moving away from CSDs because of perceived high sugar levels.

Premium Soft Drinks Trends

16-Jul-2014 By Jessica Mason

We’re on the brink of a pivotal moment for the way soft drinks are represented in pubs.For the savvy publican, the opportunity to showcase a range of premium soft drinks and suggest them as both a stylish and credible alternative to alcohol is ripe and...

How to find the right wholesaler

03-Jul-2014 By Fiona McLelland

When it comes to selecting a wholesaler to service your business, there’s a whole new world of experienced operators and new kids on the block to choose from. And, the PMA discovered, they each have something different to offer

Cabana and Ben Shaws post-mix brands ditched, as part of Nichols restructure

08-May-2014 By Robyn Black

Soft drinks firm Nichols is ditching its post-mix brands, Cabana and Ben Shaws, as part of a major restructure of the business.

Frozen puree brand Frecco aims to give hot and cold drinks a boost

20-Jan-2014 By Robyn Black

Publicans looking to boost hot and soft drinks sales this year are being urged to give a new frozen purée product a go.

Tap water on the rise as licensees fail to drive soft drinks

11-Sep-2013 By Robyn Black

Over half of publicans (62%) are doing nothing to encourage sales of soft drinks in their venues, while admitting tap water consumption is on the rise, new research shows.

Britvic positions J20 as cocktail mixer

14-Aug-2013 By Jessica Mason

Britvic is pushing its J20 soft drink brand as a cocktail mixer in ‘high energy’ pubs and bars.

Video: TV ad debuts for new soft drink Zeo

30-Jul-2013 By Robyn Black

Ambitious new drinks company Freedrinks is preparing to unveil its £4.2m ad campaign for its soft drink brand Zeo next week.

The Tap water crisis for pubs

30-Jul-2013 By Robyn Black

I don’t know if you’ve heard but there’s a water crisis in our pubs.

AG Barr and Britvic proposed merger collapses

11-Jul-2013 By Mark Wingett

The proposed merger between AG Barr and Britvic has collapsed, after the Irn Bru maker had a renewed offer to merge the two companies rejected.

Coca Cola Enterprises reveals £2.1bn growth opportunity for soft drinks

25-Jun-2013 By Jessica Mason

Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) has revealed an opportunity to grow the soft drinks category by a further £2.1bn over the next five years, according to a recent study.

Soft Drinks Report

10-Jun-2013 By Nigel Huddleston

This should be a golden age for soft drinks. Consumers are becoming more health-conscious; politicians and medics are constantly telling the public that they have to drink less alcohol; the pub scene is awash with responsible drinking campaigns; many...

Expensive soft drinks fall but category boosted by carbonates, juice drinks and energy drinks, according to Britvic

03-Apr-2013 By Robyn Black

Cash-strapped consumers are rejecting mineral water, fruit juices and bottles of cola in pubs and clubs, according to the annual Britvic Soft Drinks Review out yesterday evening.

Thor soft drinks to be trialled in pubs

22-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Thor Drinks, a new UK company, is trialling an eponymous brand of soft drinks in UK pubs and bars in the hope of driving the adult soft-drinks category.

The Big Interview: Colm O'Dwyer, Coca-Cola Enterprises

02-Jul-2012

An industry made up of lots of independent retailers tied in to buying their main products from big companies, and many of them struggling to cope with change and going out of business. It’s surprising that parallels are not drawn more often between petrol...

The Big Interview: Martin Hartridge

30-Apr-2012

Seventy years after the Luftwaffe carelessly dropped its bombs on the Hampshire village of Hambledon destroying the Alliance Brewery, beers are once again being brewed under the Alliance name.

Embrace a summer of sales opportunities at your pub

17-Apr-2012 By Colm O'Dwyer

I’ll never forget an incident 10 years ago in our local pub when my family were made to feel bad simply because we ordered food and soft drinks and we had kids with us. Now, under new management, the pub has been completely transformed.

On-trade soft drink sales fall by 1%

19-Mar-2012 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Sales of soft drinks in the on-trade fell 1% by value last year, while the decline in volumes accelerated to 4%, according to the Britvic Soft Drinks Report.

Pub Mentors: Softs put fizz into business

22-Feb-2012

Executing ‘brilliant basics’ on soft drinks and using targeted promotional activity to drive new footfall were the two key areas that lessees Duncan and Natalie Entwistle and I talked about on my first visit to their pub, the Greets Inn in Warnham, West...

Pub Mentors: Optimising soft drinks service

27-Jan-2012

Martin Sampson, out-of-home shopper marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises, reviews progress on improving soft-drink visibility at the Great Lyde in Yeovil, Somerset.

Pub Mentors: Going for high visibility

25-Oct-2011

Martin Sampson, out-of-home shopper marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises, makes his suggestions for improving soft drinks sales at the Great Lyde in Yeovil, Somerset.

Make it easy on the eyes

18-Oct-2011 By Martin Sampson

Martin Sampson, out-of-home shopper marketing controller at Coca-Cola Enterprises, gives his insights on improving soft-drink visibility at the Elephant in Bristol.

Poor June weather hits Britvic volumes

21-Jul-2011 By Ewan Turney

Britvic has reported a 5.3% decline in soft drinks volumes in Great Britain for its third quarter on last year blaming the poor June weather.

Britvic: working on a warmer welcome

12-May-2011 By Phil Mellows

Britvic's Paul Linthwaite believes pubs can do more to improve their hospitality and that soft drinks are key to making customers feel they belong.

Soft-drink sales fizz in on-trade

23-Mar-2011 By Robyn Black

Soft drinks put in a resilient performance last year in the on-trade, outgrowing ale, lager and stout with value up 1% to £2.8bn, according to the...

Britvic profit up against tough pub market

03-Dec-2010 By Mark Stretton, M&C Report

Britvic, the soft drinks maker, has spoken of the ongoing challenges in the UK on-trade market. The group, led by Paul Moody, yesterday posted...

Soft Drinks Focus: Step up the soft

02-Dec-2010

Soft drinks have been generally a bit of a blind spot in our country's pubs. It's all too often that they're treated as an afterthought in the bar's...

Hollyoaks' stars urge young bingers to drink more water

21-Sep-2010 By James Wilmore

Two Hollyoaks' stars are urging young people to drink more water and soft drinks on a night out, as part of the industry's £100m sensible drinking...

'Pub last orders could soon be soft drinks only'

06-Aug-2010

Bars could be forced to sell only soft drinks in the hour before they close and put health warnings on cocktails in order to help tackle Glasgow's...

Glasgow: soft drinks for last orders

06-Aug-2010 By Lesley Foottit

Glaswegian pubs and clubs could be forced to serve soft drinks only in the last hour of service under new recommendations by the Health and Social...

Match point: summer food and drink ideas

25-Jun-2010 By PubChef

PubChef looks at ideas for driving drinks sales throughout summer and how to get the best out of a barbecue.

High caffeine soft drinks forced to carry extra warning

28-Apr-2010 By James Wilmore

Soft drinks with a high caffeine content will be expected to carry a warning that they are not suitable for children, pregnant women, or people...

Barr's taken upmarket

23-Apr-2010 By Robyn Lewis

The Barr's Originals range of retro soft drinks is being re-launched as a more upmarket quencher to tap into the growth in premium adult soft drinks...

Soft drinks sales overtake spirits for first time

30-Mar-2010 By Claire Dodd Claire

Soft drinks have overtaken spirits for the first time to become the second largest drinks category in the on-trade, according to Britvic's annual...

Soft drinks sales overtake spirits

30-Mar-2010 By Robyn Lewis

Sales of soft drinks surged ahead last year, overtaking spirits in UK on-trade for the first time, according to the Britvic Soft Drinks Report....

Coca-Cola reveals future vision for Soft Drinks

17-Mar-2010 By Sonya Hook

Coca-Cola has launched a report which identifies a £1.4bn growth opportunity for soft drinks within the next five years. The findings stem from its...

Soft drinks innovation hampered by supply ties

05-Feb-2010 By John Harrington

Supply ties are hampering innovation among soft drinks in pubs, claims Mintel's On Trade Soft Drinks Report.

Customers 'resent' price of pub soft drinks

01-Feb-2010 By John Harrington

Resentment of soft drinks prices in pubs has reached "critical mass", with 63% resenting paying so much when they are so much cheaper in shops....

Pub-goers want healthier soft drinks

01-Feb-2010 By James Wilmore

Eight out of 10 pub-goers want licensees to stock healthier soft drinks and many resent paying high prices for poor quality draught products, new...

Britvic: making soft drinks sparkle

26-Jan-2010 By Robyn Lewis

Robyn Lewis reports on Britvic's £11m promotional spend to capture the attention of trade and consumers alike.

Support for maximum price on soft drinks

02-Jul-2009 By James Wilmore

The idea of a maximum price for soft drinks in pubs - to encourage more moderate alcohol consumption - received support today at a conference in...

The importance of going soft

25-Jun-2009 By Andrew Pring

A bit of clever retailing and a sense of adventure is all licensees need to reap the rewards of a top-notch soft drinks offer this summer, says Andrew Pring.

MA150 seminar's issues of the day

09-Apr-2009 By The PMA Team

The first MA150 seminar of 2009 took place at Claridge's recently. The PMA Team reports on some of the topics covered. Training boosts staff...

Vimto to put fizz back into brand

02-Apr-2009 By Robyn Lewis

Consumers bored with the usual soft drinks offerings are the target for a repositioned Vimto brand. Vimto Soft Drinks is investing £5m in the drink...