Non-alcoholic beverage sales remained strong while volumes continue to shift back toward the on-premise channel, increasing 11.2% year-over-year during the two-week period ended on September 11 and including Labor Day weekend, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Goldman Sachs Equity Research. On a two-year stacked basis, total category sales across non-alcoholic beverages rose 21.7% during the same period.
How Did The Major Players Perform?
Non-alcoholic beverage leaders including PepsiCo, The Coca Cola Company and Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP) all saw total sales moderately accelerate, while the momentum for energy drinks slowed slightly but remained strong during the two-week period.
PepsiCo’s total company dollar sales rose 7.1% during the two-week period compared to a 6.6% increase over the four-weeks. Volumes increased 1.2% as average pricing also went up 5.9% during the same period. On a two-year stacked basis, PepsiCo’s sales jumped 14.5%.
The Coca Cola Company saw a 8.3% increase in sales during the two weeks, however, the company experienced a 3% decrease in volume as average prices rose 11.3% during that same period.
Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP) saw total company dollar sales rise 5.9% — the lowest margin of the three major players, excluding the energy category. The company’s volumes were almost flat during the two-week period, decreasing 0.8% while average prices increased 6.7% over the same period. On a two-year stacked basis, KDP’s total sales ticked up slightly to 21.8% during the two-weeks versus 21% in the four-weeks and 19.1% over the 12-weeks.
How Did Energy Perform?
Total sales growth across the energy category decelerated slightly as the category saw a 10.3% increase compared to 10.9% over the four-weeks and 11.6% over the 12-weeks. Major players in the category experienced the slow down, but overall, total company sales remained solid.
Red Bull was the category’s fastest grower after seeing a 13.9% increase in sales during the two-week period. The company saw sales increase by the same rate during the four-weeks and rise 13.7% over the 12-weeks. On a two-year stacked basis, Red Bull saw sales increase 33.3% during the two-week period.
As for Monster, the company’s total energy drink sales increased 5% during the two-weeks versus 5.7% growth over the four-weeks and 6.7% growth over the 12-week period. Average volumes and pricing increased moderately for Monster during the period with volume growing 2.4% as prices rose at a similar rate. On a two-year stacked basis, sales jumped 11.4% during the two weeks.
Bang Energy’s sales rose 2.4% during the two-weeks, almost an identical rate compared on a two-year stacked basis for the company. PepsiCo’s energy drink portfolio, including brands such as Rockstar and MTN DEW Rise, saw a 4.2% decline in sales during the two-weeks and a 14.9% drop on a two-year stacked basis.
Growth Across Other Non-Alcoholic Beverage Categories
CSDs: Total sales across the carbonated soft drinks category accelerated 8.3% during the two weeks versus its 7.3% growth over the four-week period. KDP led the category with 10.4% growth over the two weeks, while Coca Cola saw 9.3% growth and Pepsi’s sales increased 7.1%. On a two-year stacked basis, KDP’s sales rose 29.9% compared to 24.7% growth for Coca Cola and a 16.9% increase for Pepsi.
Bottled Water: Sales across the bottled water category increased 16.5% during the two-weeks compared to 14.5% growth over four-weeks and 10.6% over the 12-weeks. PepsiCo saw the largest growth in dollar sales in the category during the two weeks, followed by private label brands and Danone.
Sports Drinks: BODYARMOR led growth in the Sports Drinks category outside of private label brands after seeing a 62.9% increase in sales during the two weeks. The category itself saw a 20.6% increase in total sales during the period versus 18.9% growth in the four-weeks and 8.8% over the 12-week period.
RTD Tea: Growth in the RTD Tea space is moderately accelerating as category sales rose 2.4% during the two-weeks compared to 1.8% growth over the four-weeks and a flat rate over the 12-weeks. Milo’s Tea Company saw a 39.2% increase in sales over the two-weeks while major players such as Coca Cola and KDP saw a slight decline in sales over the same period.
Sparkling Flavored Water: Sales across the sparkling flavored water category grew 8.3% during the two-week period with category leaders including Spindrift and Coca Cola seeing a 51.8% and 35.6% increase in total dollar sales during the period, respectively.
RTD Coffee: Growth continues to accelerate across the RTD Coffee segment as sales increased 9.5% over the two weeks. On a two-year stacked basis, category sales have increased 26.3%.
Still Flavored Water: Category sales rose 14.1% over the two-week period and were up 25.3% during the period on a two-year stacked basis.