In light of the measures to cope with Coronavirus (COVID-19), carbonates sales fell dramatically in the on-trade channel during spring 2020. As the lockdown eased from May, Germany’s on-trade channel recovered through the summer. However, consumers remained cautious and reluctant to return to on-trade establishments for health and economic reasons. This had a significant impact on carbonates that depend heavily on the club and bar scenes for sales, such as tonic water/other bitters and…

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in France did not offset the long-term structural declines that have been evident in the category for some years. On the contrary, the COVID-19 situation merely exacerbated the declining demand that is being seen in carbonates on the basis that these products are high in added sugar. Nevertheless, the category had a brief period of dynamic off-trade sales growth during March 2020 as consumers stockpiled carbonates during the early stages of the COVID-19…

Volume sales of carbonates in 2020 were not as affected by stockpiling as other basic and practical categories such as bottled water and concentrates. Consumers prioritised spending elsewhere amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. Stronger competition from water and concentrates, with its low unit price and fortified formulas, attracted consumers in 2020. Health factors also contributed to the shift towards bottled water, while concentrates represented a more economical option in times of constrained…

Carbonates off-trade volume sales are expected to decline over 2020 as a whole, and at a faster rate than in 2019. Consumption has been undermined by the economic fallout of COVID-19, with heightened uncertainty, rising unemployment and the erosion of purchasing power leading Brazilians to curb discretionary spending. Moreover, lockdown measures and social distancing rules imposed to curb the spread of the virus have resulted in consumers spending less time outside their homes, which has…

Carbonates saw some benefit in the off trade in 2020, as overall volume sales rose by 4%, having declined by 2% in 2019. More Belgians bought more soft drinks for at-home consumption during the pandemic, and 2020’s relatively warm weather also contributed to growth. All category members posted positive retail volume growth, which represents an improvement on their mostly negative 2019 rates. Tonic water/other bitters and ginger ale rose fastest. The lowest volume growth was seen by regular…

On-trade consumption of carbonates will show a drastic fall in 2020, in both volume and value terms. The main cause of this is the almost total closure of foodservice outlets between March and August, but the lack of tourists, ban on public events and reduction in levels of disposable income are also contributing factors. On-trade volumes will partially shift to the off-trade, where declines will not be so severe. However, there will still be a very significant decline in overall carbonates…

The introduction of lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 throughout Argentina has had a devastating impact on carbonates foodservice sales. The closure of the country’s entire consumer foodservice industry during the first lockdown and suppressed demand throughout the rest of the year had a major impact on consumption of carbonates. During the lockdown, some restaurants continued to operate via the provision of home delivery services. However, the majority of customers purchased food…

2020 saw the COVID-19 pandemic exert a negative influence on sales of bottled water in Vietnam. Although off-trade volume sales increased substantially over the course of the year due to the high levels of stockpiling seen in the category during the early stages of the pandemic situation, on-trade volume sales recorded steep declines over the course of the year. The main reason for the negative growth seen in foodservice sales of bottled water during 2020 was the nationwide quarantine…

Although off-trade volume and current value sales of bottled water have seen growth for many years, the rates of growth have increased in 2020, due to COVID-19. Consumers spent more time at home as a result of the virus, with working and studying from home becoming more common during the year to try and limit its spread. Many consumers also stockpiled such products at the beginning of the pandemic for fear of shortages. In addition, the temporary and sometimes permanent closure of on-trade…

While bottled water is considered a necessity for the majority of households in most parts of the Philippines, the quarantine lockdown that was announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during between the middle of March and the end of May 2020 resulted in declines being seen in total volume sales of bottled water over the course of the year. The main factor contributing to the overall sales decline seen in the category during the year was the unavailability of on-trade outlets due to…

Bottled water has experienced mixed fortunes in off-trade during the COVID-19 crisis. Sales have been bolstered by stockpiling, as consumers have been concerned about supply shortages and have looked to reduce the frequency of shopping trips. In addition, there has been an increase in at-home consumption due to the closure of schools and workplaces and government advice to stay at home. However, the same factors have resulted in a decline in impulse sales and on-the-go consumption, which…

On-trade consumption of bottled water has fallen abruptly in 2020 as a result of the closure of bars, cafés and restaurants during lockdown and the fact that outlets were forced to operate at limited capacity when reopened in order to maintain social distancing. The collapse of international tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic has also had a marked impact on on-trade sales of bottled water, as inbound tourists represent a key consumer group for businesses in many parts of Spain. While…

Bottled water has suffered a significant decline in on-trade value sales in 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19. The temporary closure of foodservice establishments negatively impacted sales of both still and carbonated bottled water, with these closures sometimes becoming permanent. The return to foodservice has also been slow in 2020, as consumers have remained concerned about the potential for contracting the virus in crowded places, as well as cost-conscious. This therefore led to more…

With consumer staying at home for longer periods of time during 2020, off-trade sales of bottled water is set to increase slightly compared to 2019; however, the shift is not as considerable as in other areas. However, carbonated water is set to record a bigger increase than the category as a total, moving from 3% volume growth in 2019, to 6% in 2020. However, for flavoured bottled water and functional bottled water, off-trade sales have moved from positive growth in 2019, to a prediction of…

Due to the Malaysian government’s stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures in 2020 in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, consumers have been buying more bottled water in retail. When the Movement Control Order (MCO) was put in place from 18 March, there was a move to buying water in bulk quantities and in bigger packs. However, this was more relevant to still purified bottled water and still natural mineral bottled water than to carbonated and flavoured options. Furthermore,…

Bottled water has seen mixed results in response to COVID-19. During March and April when the number of COVID-19 cases first started to rise there was some stockpiling seen of still natural mineral bottled water. Consumers in Japan have become well versed in preparing for emergencies having experienced several natural disasters in recent years. This stockpiling resulted in some retailers’ shelves being left bare, although this did not last long with supplies soon replenished. Having seen an…

Discounters and supermarkets remain the main beneficiaries of the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland, as most other retail channels were forced to close during the tight restrictions, causing solid increases in value sales for these distribution channels. Equally, the lockdown restriction also inspired stockpiling, as consumers rushed to bulk buy less expensive variants of bottled water, in particular Tesco, Aldi and Lidl brands, in anticipation of water shortages.

ALSO READ :…

Volume sales of bottled water have seen a decline in both foodservice and retail, but particularly foodservice. The closure of foodservice outlets and the great reduction in dine-in availability in Indonesia as part of lockdown measures have greatly contributed to the decrease in bottled water sales. The large-scale social distancing measures that began on 7 April, which resulted in consumers working and studying from home, have been a main reason for the lower volume sales in this category…

The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Germany saw consumers stockpile essentials, including bulk purchases of bottled water. As a result, off-trade volume and current value sales of bottled water have enjoyed fast growth. The extent of stockpiling is reflected in the difficulties of some bottlers to meet rising demand as not enough bottles were returned to the system to be refilled again. While lockdown led to a spike in at-home consumption and higher retail sales of bottled…

The strongest impact on retail sales of bottled water in France during 2020 was not the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, rising off-trade sales of bottled water were mainly the result of the heatwave that swept across France during summer. Although retail sales of bottled water were strongly supported by the high levels of stockpiling seen in the country during the early stages of the COVID-19 situation, this stockpiling trend was only temporary and retail sales collapsed again during April and…