ATLANTA – Americans are on the go more often than one might think, providing retailers with plenty of opportunities to boost beverage sales, especially with summer right around the corner. Coca-Cola’s “2016 Away From Home Beverage Landscape Study” outlines the vast beverage opportunity that exists in the away-from-home space and ways to unlock it.
According to the study, the average American experiences 22 away-from-home life situations every week in which he or she could consume food and/or a beverage, which adds up to 5 billion situations in the U.S. weekly. Only half of all situations include a beverage. The other half, where no beverage is consumed, is where the untapped demand exists. The study identified 17 life situations and found untapped demand in all of them.
“To unlock the beverage opportunity and fully leverage the power of beverages in foodservice, operators need to understand potential guests’ situations, moods and motives. We’ve found that those factors help us predict consumer behavior and choice of beverage type and channel even better than demographic characteristics,” said Kathleen Ciaramello, president of national foodservice and on-premise for Coca-Cola North America, in press materials. “We’re always striving to equip our foodservice partners with insights like these, as well as practical tools and resources that can help grow their business.”
The away-from-home life situations and percentage with a beverage are:
- Midday breaks: 76%
- Commuting from work/school: 27%
- Commuting from home: 33%
- Running errands: 33%
- Working out: 55%
- Food/beverage runs: 62%
- Meeting with friends: 57%
- Shopping trips: 40%
Beverages play an important role as they drive outlet choice in about 45% of all away from home eating and/or drinking situations. Situations and moods can predict consumer behavior even more than demographic factors when it comes to beverage choices, as the following chart shows.
| Excited |
Indulge |
CSD, iced tea, coffee |
|---|
| Carefree |
Be social |
CSD, iced tea, coffee, tea |
|---|
| Proud |
Be responsible |
Water, seltzer/flavored water |
|---|
| Unprepared |
Cope |
Juice, lemonade, smoothie, energy drink |
|---|
| Stressed |
Indulge |
CSD, coffee |
|---|
| Burdened |
Escape |
Juice, lemonade, smoothie, energy drink |
|---|
The study cautioned retailers not to underestimate carbonated soft drinks because they are flexible and play a multifaceted role. CSDs are among the top three choices in all away from home situations, mood states and food pairings, including breakfast. Understanding situations and moods can help predict consumers’ behavior and be a basis for a powerful sales-building strategy when it comes to beverages. (Read more on CSDs in the June issue of NACS Magazine.)