Wine, beer and spirits may be the drinks of choice in pubs, hotels and restaurants when customers are off duty and looking to relax, but it's understandably a different story in the workplace, where the growth in sales of soft drinks in food service is being driven.
Grazing has become something of a trend, and because people associate taking drinks with food it follows that the more times people eat, the more opportunities there are to sell soft drinks. But it's crucial to offer them the right products - and tastes are changing.
Terry Caldicott is responsible for selecting the soft drinks to be sold in Sodexho's 2,300 contracts throughout the UK and Ireland, and business and industry sites make up a significant part of that. He's noticed quite a shift in what his customers want, with the trend for healthy products gaining momentum, particularly in the past 12 months.
"There's no doubt that customers are looking for healthy options, and I see this trend continuing," he says. Generally, he's seen something of a decline in the sales of carbonates, with sports drinks, energy drinks and water showing massive growth. Fresh juices, smoothies and flavoured milk drinks have also grown in popularity.
The key is in responding to changing needs throughout the day - juices in the morning, energy and sports drinks for an afternoon boost and water throughout the day. "We stock lots of water in different sizes for different occasions," says Caldicott. "Single-serve 50ml `bAottles are popular, but people also buy one-litre bottles to take back to their desks. We also offer flavoured water for variety."
A movement away from carbonates has also been noted at Artizian, which caters for blue-chip clients at 21 sites throughout London and the Home Counties. "People want drinks that will give them a balanced performance through the working day," says the man in charge of choosing which drinks Artizian sites stock, Martin Dibben.
Artizian sites do stock some carbonates, but Dibben finds that the diet varieties account for twice as many sales as the regular carbonates. "People are now more aware of their sugar intake," he says.
All Artizian sites cater for breakfast in addition to lunch, and it is at this time that juices and smoothies fly off the shelves. "There's a very high take-up of fresh juices in the morning, and customers are happy to pay a higher price for premium products," he says. "We often serve around 50 smoothies at breakfast time."
Functional drinks are also popular, but rather than stocking up on energy drinks containing caffeine, Dibben selects drinks with natural properties, such as those based on green teas, though he does find that such "fashion drinks", as he calls them, are popular for a time until something else comes along.
Get the sales mix right
So how should you stock your chiller cabinet to maximise soft drink sales?
- You need to have a mix of regular carbonates and diet options, plus fresh products such as juices and smoothies.
- Site fresh products near sandwiches to encourage those looking for a healthy drink on impluse.
- Make sure shelves are fully stocked and products are fully chilled.
- Reduce the number drink offerings but increase the facings - for instance, three rows instead of one.
- Generally, the higher the sales of a product, the more spacce you should give it. For instance, if Diet Coke accounts for 20% of your sales, allocate it 20% of the space.
- Always try new products, particularly if the manufacturer is doing a major marketing campaign. It's good to get such products at the same time as retailers, not afterwards.