COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Coca-Cola HBC Romania reinforces leadership through innovation, localisation and experiential branding
Coca-Cola HBC Romania remained the dominant force in carbonates in 2025, sustaining its leadership through continuous innovation, strong brand salience and a diversified presence across retail and on-trade environments. Despite the category’s general downturn, the company demonstrated adaptability and consumer engagement through targeted product launches such as Fanta Pear, a flavour created specifically for the Romanian market.
Merlins Beverages accelerates growth as Pop Cola positions itself as a local, natural and ethical alternative
Merlins Beverages SRL stood out as the most dynamic company in 2025, driven by the increasing popularity of its Pop Cola brand. Positioned as a healthier, more ethical local alternative with natural ingredients and stevia-based sweetening, Pop Cola resonated strongly with health-conscious Romanian consumers seeking an accessible departure from multinational cola brands.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Carbonates industry in Romania with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
If you're in the Carbonates industry in Romania, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Carbonates in Romania report includes:
- Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
- Detailed segmentation of international and local products
- Historic volume and value sizes, company and brand market shares
- Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth
- Robust and transparent research methodology, conducted in-country
This report answers:
- What is the market size of Carbonates in Romania?
- To what extent are health considerations impacting consumption of Carbonates in Romania?
- How are changing social attitudes and legislation (eg sugar tax) reshaping demand and consumption?
- How are changing demographics (for example, an ageing or predominantly young population) determining consumption of Carbonates in Romania?
- Which are the leading brands in Carbonates in Romania?
- What potential exists for multinational or domestic soft drinks companies to expand in Romania?
- How are products distributed in Carbonates in Romania?
- How is the rise of e-commerce changing the retail and competitive landscape?
- How have home seclusion and social distancing measures following COVID-19 impacted sales of Carbonates?
- How are sustainability issues, such as environmentally-friendly packaging, legislation on recyclability, or the amount of plastic in bottles, impacting the soft drinks industry?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
Carbonates in Romania - Category analysis
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Carbonates struggle as price inflation, sugar taxation and health-driven substitution reshape demand
Health perceptions, sugar taxation and value concerns accelerate the decline of traditional carbonates
Tonic water and mixers gain momentum as cocktail culture and premium drinking rituals expand
Carbonates set to continue declining as consumers pivot towards healthier and more natural soft drinks
Sustainability, packaging innovation and manufacturing modernisation reshape future market dynamics
Health concerns prompt functional repositioning and experimentation with reduced sugar and prebiotic formulations
Coca-Cola HBC Romania reinforces leadership through innovation, localisation and experiential branding
Merlins Beverages accelerates growth as Pop Cola positions itself as a local, natural and ethical alternative
Small local grocers and modern grocery retailers maintain strong carbonates presence through accessibility and assortment breadth
E-commerce gains momentum as consumers seek convenience, wide assortments and competitive pricing
Soft Drinks in Romania - Industry Overview
Soft drinks performance shaped by affordability pressures and shifting lifestyle preferences
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Health-aligned beverages outperform as consumers reassess value and functionality
Deposit-Return System reshapes packaging dynamics and encourages operational efficiencies
Soft drinks demand set to rise gradually despite economic constraints
E-commerce acceleration driven by convenience, automation and omnichannel expansion
Technological investment to strengthen domestic production and supply chain resilience
Coca-Cola HBC Romania maintains leadership through scale, visibility and operational investment
Emerging beverage brands gain momentum as they diversify portfolios and leverage lifestyle trends
Hypermarkets consolidate leadership through scale, assortment and value-led strategies
E-commerce emerges as the fastest-growing channel as omnichannel players scale logistics
FOODSERVICE VS RETAIL SPLIT
Fountain sales in Romania
COUNTRY REPORTS DISCLAIMER
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Carbonates
- Regular Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Carbonates
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- Regular Cola Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Cola Carbonates
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- Regular Non-Cola Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Non-Cola Carbonates
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- Regular Lemonade/Lime
- Reduced Sugar Lemonade/Lime
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- Regular Tonic Water/Mixers/Other Bitters
- Reduced Sugar Tonic Water/Mixers/Other Bitters
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- Regular Orange Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Orange Carbonates
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- Regular Other Non-Cola Carbonates
- Reduced Sugar Other Non-Cola Carbonates
Carbonates
Sweetened, non-alcoholic drinks containing carbon dioxide are included here. All carbonated products containing fruit juice (“sparkling juices”) are included here, unless they are tea-based (these are included in carbonated RTD tea) or carbonated Energy drinks, which are included in Energy Drinks. Carbonated bottled water is also excluded. Carbonates are an aggregation of cola carbonates and non-cola carbonates, whether regular or low calorie. Euromonitor International includes both naturally and artificially-sweetened carbonates.
See all of our definitionsWhy buy this report?
- Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders
- Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats
- Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions
This report originates from Passport, our Carbonates research and analysis database.
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