EUROPE: Third-quarter beverage consumption rises due to good weather | Progresiv

There was “a more upbeat performance” in commercial beverage consumption across Europe in the third quarter of the year, driven by good weather, market research company Canadean has said.

Consumption of all commercial beverages was nearly 2% higher than in the same period last year, with packaged water one of the key beneficiaries of a hot summer. The category saw increases of 8% in Western Europe and 6% in Eastern Europe. The growth was in spite of Russia’s deepening recession, and indeed decline in Eastern European markets fell to a marginal 0.3%, Canadean said.

In recent months economic conditions have started to improve in many markets with GDP picking up and consumer average incomes rising further, all aiding the increase in beverage consumption. Premium categories such as energy drinks have particularly benefitted as more consumers can now afford to buy these products than before.

But countries such as Russia and Greece have seen a deeper reduction in their beverage sales, impacted by the continuing severity of their economic turmoil.

In March, Canadean predicted that beverage consumption in Western Europe would increase by 0.2% for the year, following a decline in the region’s beverage industry the year before. It was thought that lower inflation in key markets would lead to consumers spending more on drinks than they previously had.

Canadean beverage analyst Emma Wright said: “Overall with the improving economic conditions in many key markets and with the festive season, an important consumption occasion, just around the corner, there is more optimism than earlier in the year for beverage growth in 2015.” (www.foodbev.com)