Soft drinks in 2024: The big picture
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index recorded a growth rate of 3.8% in June 2024, a significant slowdown from its peak of 7.
2024 key trends
In 2024, soft drinks in Australia continues to shift towards sophistication and health-consciousness, driven by consumer demand for more mature and nuanced beverage options. Consumers are increasingly moving away from traditional soft drinks geared towards younger audiences, seeking indulgent drinks with complex flavour profiles.
Competitive landscape
Multinational corporations continue to dominate Australia's soft drinks industry, with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners maintaining its leadership, particularly in carbonates. A major milestone for the player in 2024 is the investment in a new bottled soft drinks line at its plant in Victoria.
Retailing developments
Supermarkets remains the dominant distribution channel for soft drinks in Australia, yet the duopoly structure of the country’s grocery retailers presents ongoing challenges for the industry. The market is primarily controlled by Coles and Woolworths, which exerts pressure on beverage manufacturers to continuously lower prices, leaving minimal room to pass on rising costs.
Foodservice vs retail split
Retail continues to dominate sales of soft drinks in Australia, a trend that was reinforced by changes in consumer behaviour during the pandemic. The shift towards at-home consumption, driven by lockdowns and lifestyle adjustments, significantly boosted retail sales.
What next for soft drinks?
Volume sales of soft drinks in Australia are projected to continue growing over the forecast period, with price stabilisation contributing to more normalised value growth. However, high operational costs are expected to remain a significant challenge for industry players.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Soft Drinks industry in Australia 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.
Data and analysis in this report provides further detailed coverage dedicated to the following key categories, where applicable:
- Bottled Water
- Carbonates
- Concentrates
- Juice
- RTD Coffee
- RTD Tea
- Energy Drinks
- Sports Drinks
- Asian Speciality Drinks
If you're in the Soft Drinks industry in Australia, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Soft Drinks in Australia 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 Soft Drinks in Australia?
- To what extent are health considerations impacting consumption of Soft Drinks in Australia?
- 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 Soft Drinks in Australia?
- Which are the leading brands in Soft Drinks in Australia?
- What potential exists for multinational or domestic soft drinks companies to expand in Australia?
- How are products distributed in Soft Drinks in Australia?
- 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 Soft Drinks?
- 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?
Soft Drinks in Australia
Soft drinks in 2024: The big picture
2024 key trends
Competitive landscape
Retailing developments
Foodservice vs retail split
What next for soft drinks?
Fountain sales in Australia
Ongoing cost-of-living pressures challenge the foodservice industry
DISCLAIMER
Bottled Water in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Robust off-trade volume recovery with slower price-driven value
Indulgence fuels demand for flavoured bottled water
Functional bottled water continues growth momentum with clean label focus
Future strong growth predicted for bottled water
Sustainability set to take centre stage
E-commerce and convenience retailers poised for solid growth
Carbonates in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Easing of inflation supports volumes while consumers favour mini packs
Low and no sugar varieties remain critical for category’s growth
Brands of non-cola carbonates incorporate health benefits
Solid off-trade volume growth, with local brands set to gain share
Competition intensifies with better-for-you drinks
Eco-conscious initiatives essential for long-term success
Concentrates in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Ongoing DIY beverage trend fuels demand for concentrates
Australia's health-conscious beverage boom fuels innovation in concentrates
Brewing convenience and customisation drive growth in coffee concentrates
Concentrates must navigate at-home boom and on-the-go pressures
Wellness and sustainability to propel growth of concentrates
E-commerce and social media will remain essential to drive consumer engagement
Concentrates Conversions
Juice in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Juice in Australia faces ongoing stagnation
Coconut water innovation slows due to maturity and competition intensifies
Wellness and indulgence fuel demand for premium juice
Brands encouraged to increasingly explore innovative consumption occasions
Sustainability becomes a growing imperative for juice players
Premium juice and functional innovations set to inject momentum into category
RTD Coffee in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Call for convenience drives strong demand in RTD coffee
Rising interest in flavourful iced latte options
Emerging local players venture into RTD coffee with premium offerings
Consistent demand for on-the-go options offers promising growth potential
Leveraging premium quality and convenience to overcome rising competition
Plant-based RTD coffee is poised for growth
RTD Tea in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Carbonated RTD tea demand surges while kombucha slows
Health trends reshape still RTD tea in Australia
E-commerce has emerged as a critical growth avenue for still RTD tea
Carbonated RTD tea offers considerable growth potential
Downward pressure from sparkling flavoured bottled water
Multichannel strategy will boost RTD tea availability and align with consumer lifestyles for lasting demand
Energy Drinks in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Consistent strong off-trade volume growth for energy drinks
Frucor Suntory retains leadership, supported by exclusive deal to bring US cult favourite Celsius to Australian market
Regulations focused on potentially harmful energy drinks push players towards clean labels and natural reformulation
Dynamic innovation will continue to fuel growth of energy drinks
Convenience and accessibility to support future purchases of energy drinks
Lines between supplementation and energy drinks set to blur
Sports Drinks in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Further segmentation within sports drinks
Health and wellness drive category expansion with fragmented competition
Coca-Cola maintains leading position through greater investment
Projected strong growth with a focus on packaging and format
Health claims set to be the centre of competition
Strategic channel partnerships set to propel growth
Asian Speciality Drinks in Australia
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Niche but growing interest in Asian speciality drinks
Umall collaborates with Everyday Marketplace from Woolworths
Harnessing Australia's demographic shifts for Asian speciality drinks
The rise of Asian speciality drinks in Australia's wellness revolution
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Soft Drinks
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- Carbonated Natural Mineral Bottled Water
- Carbonated Spring Bottled Water
- Carbonated Purified Bottled Water
-
- Still Flavoured Bottled Water
- Sparkling Flavoured Bottled Water
- Functional Bottled Water
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- Still Natural Mineral Bottled Water
- Still Spring Bottled Water
- Still Purified Bottled Water
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- 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
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- Liquid Concentrates
- Powder Concentrates
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- Not from Concentrate 100% Juice
- Reconstituted 100% Juice
- Coconut and Other Plant Waters
- Juice Drinks (up to 24% Juice)
- Nectars
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- RTD Coffee
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- Carbonated RTD Tea and Kombucha
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- Regular Still RTD Tea
- Reduced Sugar Still RTD Tea
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- Regular Energy Drinks
- Reduced Sugar Energy Drinks
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- Regular Sports Drinks
- Reduced Sugar Sports Drinks
- Asian Speciality Drinks
Soft Drinks
This is the aggregation of the following categories; Carbonates, Fruit/vegetable juice, Bottled water, Functional drinks, Concentrates, RTD tea, RTD coffee and Asian speciality drinks.
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This report originates from Passport, our Soft Drinks research and analysis database.
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