Soft Drinks

With the emerging inflation and competitive landscape being reshaped, private label is starting to regain shelf space in many categories, including bottled water. Since water is considered a basic and affordable product in consumers’ minds, private…

Across carbonates, reduced sugar options are gaining popularity in the United Arab Emirates. This trend is being widely supported by advertising and promotions. Hypermarkets and forecourt retailers are introducing floor and shelf banners advertising…

Demand for both powder concentrates and liquid concentrates has been declining in the United Arab Emirates for several years. General health awareness and concerns around sugar consumption are discouraging local consumers from purchasing these…

Energy drinks in the United Arab Emirates are often marketed using images depicting young adult consumers as enthusiastic, fit, smart and adventurous. This type of advertising can attract children and teenagers, who are becoming increasingly…

Following global inflation and the challenge for low- and mid-income consumers to manage their expenses, all major private label lines of juice entered the United Arab Emirates, including Carrefour Fresh, Lulu Fresh, Spinneys Food, Spinneys Kitchen…

Price per litre, RTD coffee is the most expensive category within soft drinks in the United Arab Emirates, followed by energy drinks. Its high price is driven by the premium nature of the product, a relatively small bottle size and the domination of…

RTD tea in the United Arab Emirates is among three categories within soft drinks demonstrating double-digit growth rates in 2023. Its success is partly being driven by its novelty factor in the local market, in line with the continuing success of RTD…

Demand for soft drinks in the United Arab Emirates (in both off-trade and on-trade channels) is growing in 2023, despite global economic challenges. The purchasing power of most local consumers remains high, as a major proportion of the population…

Sports drinks in the United Arab Emirates remains a young category with further high growth potential following its dynamic performance in 2022 and 2023. The concept of fitness, increasingly integrated into consumers’ lifestyles, has only emerged…

Bottled water remains by far the largest category of soft drinks in Saudi Arabia with increasing numbers of consumers switching to bottled water. Although tap water in the Kingdom is said to be safe to drink many people prefer to use bottled water,…

The hot weather in Saudi Arabia continues to support sales of carbonates, with sales also benefiting from the large number of consumers aged under 30, who are a key target audience for these products. Despite this, consumers in Saudi Arabia continue…

Vimto (from Aujan Industries Co Ltd) continues to lead liquid concentrates and concentrates overall in Saudi Arabia. The brand saw the launch of Vimto Cordial Zero in 2022, which is sugar-free and contains zero calories, alongside containing no…

Sales of energy drinks continue to decline in off-trade volume terms. Energy drinks incur a 100% “sin tax” in Saudi Arabia, while there are also other initiatives and restrictions aimed at discouraging the consumption of such products with the…

Saudi Arabia’s hot climate ensures there remains a healthy demand for juice in the Kingdom. However, the performances of the different juice categories have been varied in 2023 with demand increasingly being shaped by the growing focus on healthy…

Sales of RTD coffee rose sharply from a low base over the review period with locals becoming increasingly aware of these products and sales have continued to see dynamic growth in 2023 in off- and on-trade volume terms. Starbucks Iced Coffee has…

RTD tea is a relatively niche category in Saudi Arabia with it being the smallest soft drinks category in retail volume terms in 2023. Nonetheless, the category has continued to post strong growth both through the off- and on-trade channels. The…

Sales of soft drinks have continued to see healthy growth in retail volume and value terms in 2023, with sales benefiting from a booming economy. Furthermore, the country’s hot climate means there is a constant demand for soft drinks. Saudi Arabia…

The Saudi government is focusing on promoting sports across the Kingdom with it aiming to encourage people to lead healthier lifestyles through its Quality of Life programme, which is one of its Vision 2030 initiatives. It is paying great attention…

At the end of 2021, a new law went into effect requiring a deposit of ILS0.3 for all bottles of 1.5 litres and above. This had a direct impact on prices of water in 2022, as 1.5 litres is a very popular size for water bottles. After the tax on…

The tax on all sweetened beverages was removed at the end of March 2023, as a result of opposition from the ultra-Orthodox community. The Ministry of Health required retailers to lower prices within three days of the tax being removed, with the…