Recently, a notice circulating online from Jiangxi Taikoo Cola showed that Zhao Yiming's snacks and snacks will stop selling 500ml sized cola and Sprite products. According to the announcement, this move is in response to the price increase request from the manufacturer. After the existing inventory is sold out, the bottled products of this specification of cola/Sprite and Coca Cola will be fully taken off the shelves.
On July 2nd, Zhao Yiming's snack related personnel denied the authenticity of the news to First Financial reporters. He stated that the related products were sold normally in all Zhao Yiming's snack stores and have not been affected yet, and the prices have not changed.
The reporter also contacted the person in charge of COFCO Cola to inquire about the changes in cola prices, but as of the time of writing, no response has been received.
Since the beginning of this year, the wholesale prices of soda products from Coca Cola and Pepsi have both increased, but the situation of retail terminal price increases varies.
A beverage industry insider told First Financial reporters that beverage companies control the ex factory prices of channel merchants. Although beverage companies can suggest price increases, as fast-moving consumer goods, the beverage industry has always been fiercely competitive, so the final price of goods sold is still determined by end retailers.
Zhu Danpeng, Vice President of Guangdong Food Safety Promotion Association, told First Financial reporters that the majority of the supply of bulk stores comes from offline wholesale distribution systems, and even e-commerce channels. Although major beverage brands are tired of disrupting the price system, they are helpless. Especially this year, the continuous rainfall in key beverage sales areas such as East and South China has had a significant impact on beverage sales, making it more difficult to control the flow of goods in the market.
Apart from mass selling snack stores, the price increases in supermarkets and convenience stores are also different.
In early May, the two major beverage companies, Coca Cola and Pepsi, successively raised their product prices, which is speculated by the industry to be related to the increase in performance and costs.
Recently, a Coca Cola dealer in Guangdong presented the "Retail Price Notice" he received to a reporter from First Financial News. The notice showed that starting from April 19, 2024, the suggested retail price for some products will be adjusted. The suggested retail price for 300ml soda products is 2.5 yuan, 500ml soda products is 3.5 yuan, and 450ml fruit juice products is 4 yuan. The dealer told reporters that the wholesale price of Coca Cola increased twice in mid to late June.
Zhou Tian, the owner of a private convenience store in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, told reporters:; quot; This year, Coca Cola's factory prices have increased, but cola and Sprite are also popular products, so the retail prices of most Coca Cola products in our stores have not been adjusted temporarily& amp;quot;
In early May, reporters saw in some supermarkets in Beijing that the prices of regular cola and Sprite had increased to 3.9 yuan/bottle, and the prices of cola products in some convenience stores had increased to 4.2 yuan/bottle. But by July, the reporter saw at Beijing Jingkelong Supermarket that the price of cola had fallen back to 3.5 yuan/bottle -3.6 yuan/bottle, and the price of cola in convenience stores was still between 3.8 yuan/bottle and 4.5 yuan/bottle.
During the visit, some retailers also confirmed to reporters that the price of cola has indeed increased, but they dare not easily raise the price. Ren Hua, who runs a supermarket in Linyi, Shandong, told First Financial reporters that the purchase price of Coca Cola products has indeed increased by 3 to 5 yuan per liter, but he did not dare to raise the price because current consumption is not as expected, and it is important to maintain old customers.
According to the latest data from Nielsen IQ, offline sales of carbonated beverages increased by 1.2% year-on-year in May, lagging behind most beverage categories. From the 12 month data up to May this year, offline sales of carbonated beverages decreased by 2.2% year-on-year.