Overall non-alcoholic beverage sales in all channels continued to grow during the four-week period ending on June 16, according to a Wells Fargo Securities beverage report on Nielsen sales data released earlier this week.
The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) all enjoyed increased sales during the period and helped contribute to 5.1 percent growth for overall non-alcoholic beverage and snack all-channel dollar sales.
Total carbonated soft drink (CSD) dollar sales during the period were up slightly, by 1.1 percent. The Coca-Cola Company saw a 3.3 percent increase in CSD dollar sales during that time, a slight deceleration from a month ago but still enough to outpace CSDs from both PepsiCo (down 1.3 percent) and DPS (up 2.2 percent).
Dollar sales of Coke’s core CSD line grew by 1 percent during the four week period, with a 1.5 percent increase in average unit price. Dollar sales for Dr Pepper were up slightly (+0.8 percent), while the core offerings for Pepsi (down 2 percent) and Mountain Dew (down 3 percent) both recorded drops. Canada Dry, meanwhile, saw double-digit growth in dollar sales of 19.2 percent, with average unit price falling 0.8 percent.
In low calorie CSDs, Coke’s dual offerings of Diet Coke (+3.5 percent) and Coke Zero Sugar (+18.9 percent) continued to perform strongly in dollar sales. The colas were also complemented by 6.6 percent growth for Sprite Zero.
The category has also been a bright spot for PepsiCo: Pepsi Max saw 23.1 percent growth in dollar sales and an 18.9 percent increase in unit sales during the four-week period. The entire low calorie CSD category was up 2.9 percent.
In energy, Monster’s strong performance helped fuel 9.3 percent growth for the category during the four-week period. Dollar sales of all Monster brands, excluding Mutant soda, were up 16.3 percent, driven by the continued success of the coffee-based Java Monster line (+26.9 percent dollar sales). Robust sales for Monster’s core line (+11.6 percent), the zero calorie Monster Zero Ultra (+18.5 percent), and the non-carbonated, tea-based Monster Rehab (+7.4 percent) also contributed to growth.
The energy category’s other major player, Red Bull, also saw dollar sales go up in the four-week period by 7.9 percent. Rockstar, however, saw dollar sales decline by 4.8 percent.
Overall dollar sales in bottled water were up 7.8 percent during the four-week period, with pricing holding at zero percent. Volumes for Nestle, Coke and PepsiCo were all up by single-digits, while private label volume grew 14.6 percent. Dollar sales of private label water were up 11.2 percent as pricing decreased by 3.1 percent. Ozarka, one of Nestle’s regional water brands operating in the South and Midwest, saw a 16 percent increase in dollar sales and a 13.1 percent increase in unite sales during the period.
Meanwhile, sparkling flavored water saw a boost in both volume (19 percent) and dollar sales (18.2 percent) during the four-week period. National Beverage Corp., makers of popular sparkling water line LaCroix, posted a 33 percent jump in volume, followed by Coke in distant second place with 18.6 percent. LaCroix recorded a 34.1 percent increase in dollar sales and a 33.6 percent increase in unit sales to take a 22.1 percent dollar share of the sparkling flavored water category during the period.
In still flavored water, Hint (+118.4 percent) and Good 2 Grow (+35.7 percent) made significant gains in dollar sales, while Sobe saw drops of 23.6 percent in unit sales and 24.5 percent in dollar sales. The category was up 11.7 percent overall.