Roger White, chief executive of soft drinks group AG Barr, has told M&C Report the increasing demand for non-alcoholic alternatives in the on-trade is a huge growth area.
White said the company’s recent acquisition of cocktail mixers firm Funkin Limited had been inspired by the trend.
He was speaking after the company released results for the year to 25 January, which showed all its core brands outperforming the market.
White warned that: “There is no doubt that consumer preferences are changing within the total soft drinks category. Areas where traditional growth has been available are now proving more difficult to generate growth making differentiated brands and appealing to consumers more important than ever.”
He told M&C Report: “There are several moving parts which recently have been pushing deflation into the market. That’s not something this market has seen an enormous amount of but we are comfortable that we have strong plans and strong brands and we will navigate our way through it.”
He said recent data from the Office of National Statistics showing one in five adults was now a teetotaller showed there was still huge growth in the sector.
He said: “That trend was the main spur for us to get involved with Funkin and try to us this as a platform to help us understand and get involve with that space. There is a lot of potential there and we want to make sure we are in the position to cater for that.”
On future trends in the market, White said: “We will continue to see water categories and sugar-free brands growing. The functional products such as coconut water and energy drinks are also
Asked about future acquisitions, white said: “Our objective is always to ensure our balance sheet is strong and our infrastructure is capable of pushing more through but it’s all about finding the right things. There’s nothing to report at the moment.”
