Britvic-SDR-Foodservice-v17 FV - Flipbook - Page 24
Welcome
Sustainability
Category overview
Foodservice category
overview
Putting the 昀椀zz
into foodservice
Eating out is bouncing back. The overall value of food, alcohol and soft
drinks sold through UK foodservice outlets hit £97.3bn in 2023 – the 昀椀rst
time annual sales have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Total sales were 6%
higher than in 2022 and up 1.5% on 2019’s market value.1 However, overall
volumes of food and drink sold through foodservice dipped by 2.8%.2
In a year that was de昀椀ned by soaring in昀氀ation and squeezed
consumer spending, these statistics might not come as
a surprise. Food and drink in昀氀ation hit heights not seen
since the 1970s3 in 2023. What might raise eyebrows is the
resilience of soft drinks: sales grew by 4.0% to hit £3.02bn
in 20234 and volumes grew by 0.8%,4 once again proving the
crucial role soft drinks play in driving footfall and sales and
putting the 昀椀zz into foodservice.
This doesn’t mean soft drinks have been free from
challenges over the past year, of course. Growth has been
achieved despite a 0.6% year-on-year dip in buyer numbers,5
thanks largely to a signi昀椀cant increase in purchase frequency
(up 7.5%)5 and volume bought per trip (up 3.4%)5 by those
that continue to buy soft drinks from foodservice outlets.
As we’ll explore over the coming pages, this re昀氀ects the
spotlight that savvy operators are shining on their soft drinks
and illustrates wider opportunities for the sector as a whole.
1 IGD - UK eating out forecast 2023-2028 – P7
2 IGD - UK eating out forecast 2023-2028 – P8
24
FOODSERvICE CaTEgORy OvERvIEW
