NEW YORK -- Flavored water, led by LaCroix, continues to win sales as carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) see sales shrink in convenience stores and beyond, according to the latest scan data from New York-based Nielsen.
Sparkling and still flavored waters saw volume sales grow 13.8% in all channels of retail during the four-week period ending Nov. 4, 2017, including 44.6% growth for LaCroix marketer National Beverage Corp., 20.5% growth for PepsiCo's flavored waters and 6.0% for Coca-Cola's. Regular bottled water saw volume sales grow 5.0%.
During the same period, CSD volume sales declined 4.1% in all channels and 9.0% in c-stores, according to Nielsen data shared by Wells Fargo Securities and Cowen and Co., stock research firms based in New York.
Energy drinks continued their low-single-digit growth (up 1.6%) in c-stores during the time frame, while sports-drink sales dipped 1.0% and shelf-stable juice fell 9.8%.
Beer volume sales, meanwhile, declined 2.4% in all channels and 2.6% in convenience stores. The category continues to be led by sales of imported beer, which was up 4.0% during the four-week period.
The declines in the sales of several beverage categories reflects a long pattern of consumers drinking fewer sugar-sweented drinks, according to a new study published in the journal Obesity. According to the national health study, 60.7% of children and 50% of adults drank a sugary beverage on any given day in 2014, down from 79.7% of children and 61.5% of adults in 2003, according to a summary of the report in the New York Times.
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