Wells Fargo outlines category gains.
From soft drinks to salty snacks, c-stores closed out 2014 with gains across a number of in-store categories.
Soft Drink Sales
Total carbonated soft drinks (CSDs)—excluding energy—dollar sales in the U.S. c-store channel were up a solid 3.6% ( up 2.1% for prior 12 weeks) during the four-week period ending Dec. 20, 2014, driven by strong average equal price growth of 5%, offset by equal unit volume declines of 1.4%, according to Wells Fargo Securities and Nielsen data.
Coca-Cola dollar sales were up 4.8% (up 4% for 12 weeks) as a result of a quite strong 6% average equal price increase, partially offset by 1.1% decline in equal unit volume.
“With nearly all Q4 results reflected in scanner data, we remain encouraged by Coca-Cola’s solid dollar sales growth and share gains, which we attribute to retail gas price tailwinds and its best-in-class price pack architecture,” said Bonnie Herzog, managing director, beverage, tobacco and convenience store research for Wells Fargo.
Energy Soars
The energy category generated strong dollar sales growth of 10.9%, driven by continued strong growth for Monster/Red Bull, offset by continued declines for Rockstar. Monster generated particularly strong 12.4% dollar sales growth (up 8.7% for 12 weeks), driven by overall 12.8% equal unit volume gains and -0.4% average equal pricing.
“We attribute Monster’s strong results to overall industry tailwinds given lower retail gas prices and more specifically the incremental penetration of Monster’s new innovation,” said Herzog.
Beer & Snacks Sales
Beer dollar sales in the U.S. c-store channel were up a solid 4.8% (up 4% for 12 weeks) driven by equal unit growth of 2% and pricing growth of 2.8%.
Meanwhile, salty snacks category dollar sales increased 5.9% during the recent four-week period (up 6.1% for 12 weeks), with solid 5.1% unit growth and an increase of 0.7% in pricing.
