Despite the economic downturn taking its toll on the spending habits of Irish consumers, sales of carbonated beverages have remained somewhat resilient, with the level of strong brand names within the market helping to sustain the market’s value.

However, carbonated beverage producers face strong calls from numerous government and private groups for the amount of sugar contained within drinks to be lowered, with carbonated beverages a strong target for anti-obesity movements. Moving forward it is likely that the market will be driven by innovations to produce healthier drinks.

• How have the changes in consumer spending impacted on carbonated soft drink sales? – With consumers finding themselves with less disposable income, will this see them increasingly trading down to cheaper brands of soft drinks?

• What impact did the warm summer weather of 2013 have on carbonated soft drink sales? – Did the warm weather promote growth in sales and impulse buying?

• What impact would a new sugar tax have on the carbonated soft drink market? – With repeated calls for more to be done to prevent obesity, what impact would a new sugar tax have on consumer purchasing habits?

• What impact will the use of stevia have on the industry? – Will the natural sweetener help carbonated drinks to improve their image among consumers?

• What type of carbonated drinks do consumers drink the most? – Is cola still Ireland’s favourite soft drink? Where do consumers tend to buy and consume soft drinks?

Other Mintel reports of relevance:

• Cider – UK, January 2014

• Beer – Ireland, April 2013

• Irish Lifestyles – Ireland, September 2013

• Carbonated Soft Drinks – UK, May 2013

• Innovations in Soft Drinks – Ireland, April 2011.

This report will examine the sale and consumption of carbonated beverages throughout the Island of Ireland in both the on-trade and off-trade. On-trade sales are defined as sales of carbonated drinks via pubs, bars, restaurants or cafés for consumption on premises, while off-trade sales are defined for those made via retailers such as supermarkets and convenience stores.

For the purposes of this report, Mintel defines the carbonates market as covering all carbonated soft drinks sold through the retail and non-retail channels.

Data include sales through the following outlets:

• Take-home (including impulse): This includes grocery retail outlets where carbonated soft drinks are purchased for the purpose of in-home consumption or for drinking on the go, comprising supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol forecourts among others.

• On-premise: This includes anywhere where carbonated soft drinks are bought to consume on-site, eg leisure centres, hotels, restaurants, fast food venues, cafés, education establishments, the workplace and in the on-trade (ie pubs, bars and clubs).

The basic ingredients of soft drinks (excluding fruit juices and bottled water) are water, a sweetener, an acid and flavouring. Under European regulations, carbonated soft drinks are ‘a manufactured drink, optionally sweetened, acidulated, carbonated and which contain fruit, fruit juice and other salts; the flavour may derive from vegetable extracts or flavourings’. Optional ingredients include fruit, carbon dioxide, preservative and colouring.

In order to maintain consistency with previous Mintel reports, the following categories are used:

• colas

• non-cola carbonates (including general fruit-flavoured carbonates, ‘traditional’ carbonates such as ginger beer and shandy and products such as root beer, carbonated iced teas, etc)

• lemonades (including lemon-and-lime flavours)

• mixers (including tonic water, ginger ale, soda water and bitter lemon). Soda water differs from fizzy water with the addition of sodium, and its status as a mixer rather than a drink to be consumed on its own.

All mainstream carbonated soft drinks are included in the market size. Diet carbonates are included.

Sports and energy drinks are not included within the Market Size and Forecast section of this market, but are examined as a competitor market within the Competitive Context.

Please note that data contained within the Market Size and Forecast section of this report may not match in some cases with previous reports due to more data becoming available and differences in market segmentation methods.

For the purpose of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive online research into Irish consumers’ usage of and attitudes towards carbonated soft drinks. The research was carried out by Toluna on behalf of Mintel in November 2013.

A total of 750 internet users aged 16+ in NI and 1,250 internet users aged 16+ in RoI were asked the following questions:

‘Which, if any, of the following carbonated soft drinks have you drunk at home or out of home in the last six months?’

‘There are growing calls for additional taxes on sugary drinks such as carbonated soft drinks, which would raise the price you pay for them. Which one of the following best describes what you would do if the price of your favourite carbonated soft drink went up?’

‘Still thinking about carbonated soft drinks, to what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?’

‘Which, if any, of the following characteristics do you generally associate with each of these types of drinks?’

The results from this survey are discussed in The Consumer sections of this report.

Mintel also draws consumer insight from other sources:

• Mintel’s trend database and previous Mintel reports from the UK and Ireland.

In compiling this report, Mintel has gathered data from separate NI and RoI sources (eg NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and CSO – Central Statistics Office). In some cases, therefore, it has not been possible to provide comparable data for each region.

For the purpose of this report:

• IoI refers to the island of Ireland.

• NI refers to Northern Ireland.

• RoI refers to the Republic of Ireland.

Therefore, ‘Irish consumers’ refers to both NI and RoI consumers.