Where the Gains Are
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
C-store volume sales of carbonated soft drinks (CSD) fell more than 3% in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014, with dollars up 1.1%, according to The Nielsen Co. Both regular and diet CSDs lost ground. For non-cola CSDs, volume sales were off nearly 2%. According to IRI, c-store sales of CSDs fell 2.8% to reach $8.6 billion, with unit sales down 3.9%.
| Carbonated Soft Drinks | ||||
| CSD type | Dollar sales ($ millions) | PCYA | Volume sales (millions) | PCYA |
| Regular CSDs | $6,267.4 | 3.1% | 425.2 | -1.7% |
| Diet CSDs | $1,917.7 | -5.1% | 122.3 | -8.6% |
| Total CSDs | $8,185.2 | 1.1% | 547.6 | -3.3% |
| Non-Cola Carbonated Soft Drinks | ||||
| CSD type | Dollar sales ($ millions) | PCYA | Volume sales (millions) | PCYA |
| Regular | $3,843.4 | 3.6% | 251.0 | -1.2% |
| Diet | $754.5 | -3.2% | 45.4 | -5.6% |
| Total CSD flavored | $4,598.0 | 2.4% | 296.4 | -1.9% |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
Market Share: Nonalcohol Beverages
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
CSDs contributed more than 34% of c-store sales of nonalcohol beverages in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014, down nearly a full point from the year prior, according to Nielsen. Gaining ground: energy drinks, which supplied more than one-quarter of sales.
| Subcategory | Dollar share |
| Carbonated soft drinks | 34.1% |
| Energy drinks | 25.7% |
| Water | 11.8% |
| Sport drinks | 9.7% |
| RTD tea | 5.5% |
| Fruit drinks | 4.6% |
| Fruit juice | 3.6% |
| RTD coffee | 2.9% |
| Other | 2.1% |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
Quarterly Look: CSD UPCs
C-store sales, 13 weeks ending Dec. 29, 2013
In the last quarter of 2013, c-store CSD sales fell 1.5%, although individual UPCs countered the category trend, according to IRI.
| UPC | C-store sales ($ millions) | PCYA | Case sales (millions) | PCYA |
| Mountain Dew (20-oz.) | $159.9 | -2.1% | 106.5 | -2.5% |
| Coca-Cola (20-oz.) | $120.4 | 8.7% | 77.0 | 8.5% |
| Dr Pepper (20-oz.) | $85.8 | 4.3% | 55.8 | 2.6% |
| Pepsi (20-oz.) | $79.3 | 3.5% | 52.7 | 3.5% |
| Diet Coke (20-oz.) | $61.1 | 0.5% | 39.2 | 1.1% |
| Diet Mountain Dew (20-oz.) | $57.9 | -4.8% | 38.9 | -5.2% |
| Coca-Cola (12 12-oz. cans) | $56.9 | -5.9% | 12.2 | -6.3% |
| Mountain Dew (1-liter) | $49.6 | 0.7% | 26.1 | -0.7% |
| Coca-Cola (2-liter) | $46.8 | -1.4% | 24.7 | -0.6% |
| Sprite (20-oz.) | $41.2 | 8.4% | 26.2 | 8.1% |
| Total (including UPCs not shown) | $2,079.6 | -1.5% | 1,249.2 | -1.4% |
Source: IRI
20-Ounce CSDs
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
C-store volume sales of 20-ounce CSDs rose more than 2% in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014, according to Nielsen.
| UPC | Unit sales (millions) | PCYA |
| Mountain Dew | 30.9 | 1.1% |
| Coca-Cola | 21.5 | 12.6% |
| Dr Pepper Cherry | 15.3 | 6.9% |
| Pepsi Cola | 14.8 | -1.5% |
| Diet Coke | 11.0 | 2.5% |
| Total (including UPCs not shown) | 196.1 | 2.3% |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
Regular and Diet CSDs
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
While c-store sales of regular CSDs rose more than 3% in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014, according to Nielsen, diet CSD sales slipped more than 5%.
| C-store sales ($ millions) | PCYA | Volume sales (millions) | PCYA | |
| Regular | ||||
| Mountain Dew (20-oz.) | $667.7 | 3.1% | 445.7 | 1.1% |
| Coca-Cola (20-oz.) | $479.1 | 14.3% | 309.5 | 12.6% |
| Dr Pepper Cherry (20-oz.) | $338.9 | 9.8% | 220.2 | 6.9% |
| Pepsi-Cola (20-oz.) | $325.2 | 0.7% | 213.7 | -1.5% |
| Coca-Cola (12 12-oz. cans) | $214.4 | -3.1% | 47.3 | -4.4% |
| Total (including UPCs not shown) | $6,267.4 | 3.1% | 3,969.2 | 2.7% |
| Diet | ||||
| Diet Coke (20-oz.) | $244.6 | 4.4% | 158.3 | 2.5% |
| Diet Mountain Dew (20-oz.) | $220.9 | 0.5% | 148.5 | -1.3% |
| Diet Pepsi-Cola (20-oz.) | $152.9 | -1.9% | 100.5 | -4.0% |
| Diet Dr Pepper Cherry (20-oz.) | $129.7 | 2.3% | 84.2 | -0.3% |
| Coca-Cola Zero (20-oz.) | $81.6 | 10.3% | 52.4 | 8.4% |
| Total (including UPCs not shown) | $1,917.7 | -5.1% | 1,194.1 | -6.2% |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
Cross-Category Opportunity
According to an analysis of POS data from three midsize c-store chains by Management Science Associates (MSA), CSDs ranked as the No. 4 top purchased item with e-cigarettes, and packaged beverages in general ranked as the second most popular purchase with e-cigs, after energy shots.
CSD Flavor Trends
C-store sales, 13 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
Most of the top-selling flavor varieties of CSDs lost volume share in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014, according to Nielsen. The most popular flavor—cola—gave up nearly 1 point of share.
| CSD type | Dollar share |
| Regular flavors | 47.0% |
| Regular cola | 29.6% |
| Diet cola | 14.2% |
| Diet flavors | 9.2% |
| CSD flavor | Volume share | Point change | PCYA |
| Cola | 45.9% | -0.8 | -1.7% |
| Citrus | 22.4% | -0.2 | -0.9% |
| Pepper | 11.2% | 0.0 | 0.3% |
| Lemon/lime | 7.7% | -0.2 | -2.2% |
| Orange | 3.6% | 0.3 | 8.9% |
| Other | 9.2% | NA | NA |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
CSD Package-Size Trends
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
With nearly 36% of c-store CSD volume sales, the single-serve 20- to 21-ounce package size also saw a 2.2% gain in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, according to Nielsen.
| Package size | Volume sales (millions) | PCYA |
| 20- and 21-oz. | 196.1 | 2.2% |
| 2-liter | 125.1 | -7.5% |
| 12-pack, 12-oz. cans | 93.8 | -11.7% |
| 1-liter | 50.2 | -5.2% |
| 6-pack, 12-oz. cans | 12.2 | 0.4% |
| All other | 70.1 | 3.4% |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
CSD Price Trends
C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, 2014
The average price for a case of 20- to 21-ounce CSD bottles rose four-tenths of a cent in the 52 weeks ending Jan. 25, according to Nielsen.
| Package type | Average price (per 288-oz. case) | Price increase |
| 20-21-oz. bottles | $21.53 | 0.4 cents |
| 12-pack, 12-oz. cans | $8.84 | 0.2 cents |
| 2-liter | $7.47 | 0.2 cents |
Sources: The Nielsen Co., Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
Customer in Focus
Males ages 18 to 34 are most likely to buy regular and low- or mid-calorie CSDs, according to research by Mintel. A survey of soda shoppers found that 47% in this age group had purchased a low- or mid-calorie CSD, with 83% purchasing a regular soft drink. Males ages 35 to 54 were the most likely to report buying a diet CSD.
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