NEW YORK -- Dollar sales of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) contracted in June for the first time in more than a year, while unit sales continued their steady decline, according to recent Nielsen scan data.
"Total CSD dollar sales in all channels were down -0.2% (and up +1.4% for prior 12 weeks) during the four-week period ending June 13, 2015, driven by solid average equivalent price growth of +4.2% but offset by equivalent unit volume declines of -4.2%," according to a Wells Fargo Securities research report citing Nielsen data.
Much of the small decline came at the expense of PepsiCo products.
PepsiCo CSD dollar sales were down -2.5% during the month (and flat for the 12-week period) with -6.6% equivalent unit volume declines and +4.4% average equivalent price growth," Wels Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote. "PepsiCo's CSD pricing premium vs.
Coca-Cola CSDs is the largest gap in nearly a year as success of higher-priced premium products such as Mountain Dew Kickstart and Dew Shine have driven overall net price realization. However, this was offset by double-digit volume declines in nearly half of PepsiCo's tracked CSD brands."
Dollar-sales news was better for Coca-Cola Co. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, although volume continues to decline for them, as well.
"Coca-Cola CSD dollar sales were up +1.8% for the four-week period (and +3.0% for 12-week) as a result of strong +5.7% average equivalent price increase, partially offset by decline in equivalent unit volume of -3.7%," Herzog said. "Dr Pepper Snapple Group CSD dollar sales were up +0.6% during the period (+1.4% for 12 weeks) as a result of average equivalent price increases below its peers of only +1.5% and equivalent unit volume declines of -0.9%."
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