Non-alcoholic beverage sales accelerated over the two-week period ending August 28, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research. During that period, dollar sales increased 8.7%, compared to 9.2% in the four-weeks and 10.2% in 52-weeks. Total non-alcoholic beverage sales on a two-year stack basis were up 20.9%.
Leaders Expand
PepsiCo picked up the pace, as total company sales accelerated with 6.2% growth over the two weeks. On a two-year stack basis, dollar sales are up 13.7%, down slightly from 14.1% growth over the four weeks. Salty snacks grew 4.2% during the two weeks. Meanwhile, after several weeks of decline, total EQ volumes approached breaking even (down 0.1%) while average pricing rose 6.3%.
The Coca-Cola Company reported even faster sales growth, rising 7.2% during the two weeks. Volume fell 4% during that time, with average pricing continuing to climb from 7.1% over the 12-week period to 11.2% during the two weeks. Over a two-year stacked basis, sales were up 19.2% over the period.
Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) also reported gains, though less than its main rivals: total company sales were up 3.8% during the two weeks, a slight acceleration from the four-week period. Like Coca-Cola, the conglomerate saw falling volumes (down 3.2%) and rising prices (up 7%) during the period, with two-year stacked sales growth of 20.6%.
Energy Keeps Pace
After growing 11.7% over the four-week period, energy drinks kept up their impressive growth streak with another strong performance, growing 11.6% over the two week period.
Big gainers over the most recent two week period include Red Bull, which saw overall sales rise 14% while remaining flat in average price. Volume also ticked up from recent weeks, growing 14.1%. Across its portfolio, core Red Bull sales grew 13.7%, while Summer Editions were up 83.4%. On a two-year stacked basis, the energy drink maker reported a sales increase of 32%.
Meanwhile, Monster reported dollar sales increasing by 6.4%, against volume growth of 4.2% and average price increase of 2.1%. During that time frame, gainers included Green Monster (10.3%), Zero Ultra (17.4%), and Java (12.1%), while Reign fell by nearly 12%. Goldman analysts noted that the incremental contribution from the brand’s new 12 oz. cans has been relatively limited. Dollar sales for Bang climbed 4.3% during the two weeks, while fast-rising CELSIUS reported a 195% increase, which notably does not include data from non-tracked channels (such as fitness and ecommerce).
Pepsi, which controls brands Rockstar and Mountain Dew, saw sales of its energy drinks fall 4.4% during the two weeks. On a two-year stacked basis, the portfolio is down 13.8%.
How Did Other Categories Perform?
CSDs (excluding energy): Sodas enjoyed a late summer swoon, with sales growing 6.5% over the two-weeks, an acceleration from 5.1% during the four week period. Of the major players, KDP emerged as the fastest gainer, with its CSD portfolio up 7.3% during the two weeks, compared to 7.1% for PepsiCo and 6.9% for Coca-Cola. On a two-year stack, KDP also pulled out ahead with an increase of 27.9%, versus 14.8% and 19.3%, respectively.
Bottled Water: Category sales accelerated slightly, up 12.8% during the two-weeks. Pepsi posted the biggest sales gain (+18.7%) during the window, with volume also rising around 19%.
Sports Drinks: Led once again by big gains from BodyArmor (up 53.9%), sports drinks continued to expand, growing sales 12.8% during the two-week period. Yet chief rival Pepsi (Gatorade) also put up numbers, rising 12.2%.
RTD Tea: Tea drink dollar sales fell -0.2% in the two-weeks, with volume down -3.8%, but average pricing up 3.7%. Leading brands saw dollar sales slide across the board, including Pepsi/Lipton (-2.1%), Coke (-5.7%), AriZona (-0.7%), KDP (-16.4%), Turkey Hill (-4.4%) and Red Diamond Inc. (-1.5%). However, Milo’s Tea Company saw sales rise 37.6% to $263.7 million and Bolthouse Farms was up 3.3% to $33.2 million.
RTD Coffee: Coffee sales were up 11.6% in the two-week period (volume +11.6% and average pricing holding flat), with Pepsi and Starbucks’ North American Coffee Partnership climbing 2.8%. Other leading brands saw double digit growth, including Danone (+37.2%), Coke (+22%), Califia Farms (+44.9%) and Bolthouse Farms (+32.4%).
Sparkling Flavored Water: The category remained consistent from its 12-week and four-week numbers, posting sales growth of 5.6% for the two-week period. Spindrift (32.3%) and Coca-Cola (23.8%) led the way, while National Beverage Corp remained almost flat.