26 Feb 2015 Tiny Cokes: Less guilt means more money for soda makers
The shift means 7.5-ounce “mini-cans” [222ml] and 8-ounce [237ml] and 8.5-ounce [251ml] glass and aluminum bottles are taking up more space on supermarket shelves. The cans and bottles have been around for a few years, but Coke and Pepsi are making them more widely available and marketing them more aggressively.
As part of its “Share-a-Coke” campaign that printed popular names on cans and bottles last year, for instance, Coke says it distributed a million mini-cans.
The focus on pushing smaller packages signals a shift from the past couple of decades, when beverage makers measured success by the sheer volume of soda they sold. Yet soda consumption has declined persistently in recent years, with public health officials blaming it for making people fat and calling for special taxes and even warning labels on cans.
Soda hit its peak in 1998, when Americans on average drank the equivalent of 576 cans of it a year, according to data from the industry tracker Beverage Digest. That figure was down to about 450 cans a year in 2013.
Instead of fighting what seems to be a losing battle, Coke and Pepsi are pushing smaller cans and bottles that give their products a sense of newness among the growing proliferation of beverage choices. The companies also say the tiny sizes cater to people’s desire for more modest servings.
“Coca-Cola is so delicious, but it’s like sun tanning or cigarettes — they’re these wonderful things that we now know are horrible for us,” said Lauren Utvich, a 31-year-old food stylist in New York, who bought the Coke mini-cans when she first spotted them.
Utvich doesn’t normally drink soda, but she likes that the mini-cans turn Coke into a relatively guiltless treat. But that’s not the only reason she bought them. “Let’s be honest. I like them because they’re freaking adorable,” said Utvich, who didn’t pay attention to how much they cost.
Opportunity in a problem
During a presentation in November, Coke’s North American president, Sandy Douglas, said the health and wellness trend has set up “a tremendous opportunity for the Coca-Cola brand with our smaller packages.”
He noted a regular 12-ounce [354ml] can of Coke on average sell for 31 cents. By comparison, a 7.5-ounce [222ml] mini-can sells for 40 cents. That translates to 2.6 cents-per-ounce for a regular can, versus 5.3 cents-per ounce for the mini version.
Coca-Cola said that while it may be selling less soda, smaller packs are pushing up revenue. Sales of Coke’s smaller sizes — which include a 1.25-litre bottle as an alternative to the 2-litre bottle — were up 9 percent last year through October, according to the presentation by Douglas. By comparison, sales of its 12-ounce cans and 2-litre bottles edged up 0.1 percent.
That doesn’t mean Coke and Pepsi are abandoning their more generous servings, which still dominate the industry…..