Soft drinks, supermarket sales drop even in summer

Soft drinks are not escaping the drop in consumption, with sales registering a minus sign even in months that are generally favourable to consumption such as July and August. The sector association Assobibe reports this on the basis of Circana data: sales volumes in the large-scale distribution and Cash & Carry channels in fact marked a positive June, followed however by a gradual worsening in July (-4.3%) and August (-11.3%).

The reductions affected most segments: tonic waters marked -4.2% in July and -11.3% in August; similar trends for tea-based beverages (-7.3% and -17.3%), chinottos (-8.7% and -17.9%), orangeades (-6.3% and -12.5%), lemonades (-2.4% and -12.8%) gazodas (-3.7% and -13.6%) and non-alcoholic aperitifs (-11.9% and -15.2%).

"These data confirm the difficulties of a sector that, with a few exceptions, is facing further shrinking consumption and an extremely unstable context," say Assobibe, "a situation that is even more worrying considering that it occurs in the summer season, usually the main period for the sector.

"In this delicate phase, the prospect of the entry into force of the Sugar tax (which should come into force at the beginning of 2026 and has already been postponed several times, ed.) is weighing heavily: a measure that is unsustainable and that risks further compromising the stability of the soft drinks supply chain, already tried by difficult months. It is necessary that this tax measure that humiliates Made in Italy, fuels constant uncertainty, and slows down competitiveness with heavy repercussions for Italian producers and families, without guaranteeing concrete results for public health, be quickly cancelled," stated Giangiacomo Pierini, president of Assobibe..