NEW YORK -- How are new beverage products affecting convenience store sales and will they be around for the long haul? A Wells Fargo Securities survey of numerous beverage retailers representing thousands of c-stores across the United States offers a look at Coca-Cola's new 12.5-ounce PET packaging and Dr Pepper Snapple Group's Sun Drop soda and Dr Pepper 10.
The new, smallest PET bottles from Coca-Cola were introduced during the NACS Show in October, with initial rollouts to include the company's major soda brands, including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Sprite.
"Slightly more than half of the retailers we surveyed indicated they are carrying Coke's new 12.5-ounce PET package in their coolers, with the majority offering it at the [recommended] 89-cent price point," wrote beverage analyst Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo, New York, in a research note. "However, the majority of respondents indicated that the new packaging is not necessarily driving increased purchase occasions."
She added that several of the retailer respondents said they expect Coca-Cola will focus more on the 12.5-ounce package in 2012 and they wouldn't be surprised if the 20-ounce package is eliminated. To date, Coca-Cola executives have said 20-ounce PET will remain to provide another option for consumers.
Meanwhile, Sun Drop trends are "tepid," Herzog wrote.
"The majority of retailers we surveyed carry Sun Drop in their stores and slightly more than half of them characterized Sun Drop's sales as 'strong' or 'fair,' she wrote. Although very few retailers indicated that Sun Drop was taking share from Mountain Dew, we are encouraged that no retailers felt it was losing share to Mountain Dew."
The Sun Drop brand goes back more than 60 years, but the citrus-flavored soda was rolled out nationally in 2011.
And Dr Pepper 10, which rolled out late last year offering the taste of Dr Pepper with only 10 calories, falls into the "too soon to tell" category on the Wells Fargo survey.
More than 90% of survey respondents said they are stocking Dr Pepper 10, and 71% said sales have been "fair." Nearly 80% of respondents said they believe Dr Pepper 10 is cannibalizing other Dr Pepper products.
Still, with the strong majority (86%) of sales being on a trial basis at this point, retailers said it's too soon to conclude whether the line extension has legs.
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