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Mineral water, mixers on the rise, soft drink consumption declines

According to a recent Roy Morgan report, soft drink consumption among Australians over an average seven day period has declined from 56 to 49 percent over the past five years.

Between January 2009 and December 2013 consumption of unflavoured sparkling mineral water increased from seven to eight percent.

Those beverages Roy Morgan labels as ‘mixer’ drinks, including tonic water and dry ginger ale, gained momentum over the same period, with consumption increasing from 10 percent to 12 percent.

While overall soft drinks such as cola and lemonade are consumed by a higher portion of the population, the statistics point to the rise of healthier carbonated beverage options over conventional soft drinks.

Angela Smith the group account director – consumer products at Roy Morgan Research said: “As consumer preferences shift away from sugar-laden soft drinks such as colas and lemonades, and towards other ‘healthier’, more ‘natural’ sparkling beverages, we’ve seen increased marketing activity in this segment, from Liptons’ recently launched sparkling iced teas to Scarlett Johansson’s appointment as the global brand ambassador for Sodastream.”

The report uncovered these healthier options are particularly popular among baby boomers, or Australians aged between 54 and 68.

Sixteen percent chose mixers, meanwhile 10 percent opted for unflavoured sparkling mineral water in an average seven day period, which is above the national average.

Those aged 68 and older are also fans – 17 percent drank mixers over the same period, meanwhile seven percent prefer sparkling mineral water.

As expected, generations Y and Z were found to be more likely to drink conventional soft drinks; however Smith notes consumption is gradually declining.

“While younger Australians aren’t quite as keen on unflavoured sparkling mineral water and mixers as their older counterparts, the overall move to these drinks is changing the nature of the non-alcoholic beverage market.

“Not only are we moving gradually away from soft drinks, but fewer of us are drinking fruit juices, energy drinks and sports/health drinks than we were five years ago too. It seems our tastes are slowly but surely evolving towards ‘lighter,’ less heavily flavoured beverages,” she said. 

Sparkling mineral water and mixers drunk in last seven days by Australian generations


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), January 2009- December 2013, Average Annual n=19,298.

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