On your marks

WHILE recent years have seen a proliferation of price-marked packs across many categories, soft drinks remains one of the areas where they appear most popular.

Simon Harrison, wholesale sales director at Coca-Cola Enterprises, reckons a clear on-pack price can mean the difference between a shopper spending and not spending.

Rockstar PMP Range Shot

“Convenience stores are in the ideal position to use price-marked packs as a tool for growing sales as they look to deliver value for shoppers, particularly on soft drinks which are often bought impulsively at independent retailers,” he said.

“Many shoppers use these outlets for last minute buys and offering clear value for money can help to encourage additional spend.

“Our price-marked packs are designed to provide an attractive single-unit price point, but we also provide plain packs to allow retailers to choose the right option for them and promote soft drinks differently through the year.”

CCE has introduced a new £1.69 PMP to the 1.75L Coca-Cola range, available to convenience retailers. Other PMPs include 89p Capri-Sun, £1 Relentless and £1.19 Monster Energy.

Capri-sun PMP

• In the impulse channel, PMPs are growing across all soft drinks categories and now account for 25% of sales in RTDs, showing 35% growth, according to Nielsen figures quoted by Vimto.

“Within the Vimto range alone, PMPs account for over 64% share of the RTD sales for the brand and are experiencing a 30% growth, proving just how appealing this offering is to impulse shoppers,” said Vimto UK marketing controller, Emma Hunt.

“The rising cost of living could play a large part in demand for PMPs, coupled by the fact that convenience shoppers generally perceive them to be better value.

“PMPs in soft drinks have become an important factor in purchase decisions for convenience retailers and to recognise this we’ve significantly grown our PMP offering across our brands.”

• With price-marked packs being used more frequently, AG Barr reckons there is a need to continually innovate to maintain impact.

“AG Barr has done so with its next generation of price-marked packs, incorporating an additional multi-buy element,” said Adrian Troy, head of marketing for the firm. “This benefits retailers as it encourages additional purchase while still delivering profit and consumers feel like they are getting even better value.”

This new offer was trialled on Rubicon 1-litre cartons, which were offered with a £1.29/2 for £2 flash on pack. Troy said the additional multibuy element has proved so successful that it already been used on Irn-Bru and Barr flavours and is being repeated on Rubicon and also rolled out on Sun Exotic and Ka 1-litre cartons.

All of AG Barr’s most popular brands, including Irn-Bru, Ka, Rubicon, Barr and Rockstar, are available in PMPs throughout the year.