Coke reigns supreme as Australia’s favourite soft drink
Four of the five most popular soft drinks in Australia are cola flavoured, and three of those are Coca-Cola brands, according to findings from market research organisation Roy Morgan Research.
Coca Cola (consumed by 19 per cent by Australians aged 14 years or older in an average seven days); Coca Cola Zero (8 per cent) and Diet Coke (5 per cent). The other cola brand in the Top Five is Pepsi Max, drunk by 7 per cent of the population in any given seven days.
Soft drinks still “extremely popular”, despite health campaigns
From the former Mayor of New York trying (unsuccessfully) to ban the sale of oversized sodas to the Australian health campaign ‘Rethink Sugary Drink’, soft drinks may not be to the taste of the world’s government authorities, but they remain extremely popular among ordinary citizens. Roy Morgan Research found that consumers in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, for example: millions of whom consume at least one soft drink in an average seven days.
Cola flavour popular in all three countries
While the markets in these three Asia-Pacific nations are very different, the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research, taken from more than 50,000 respondent interviews, revealed that they also share a key trait.Cola beverages feature heavily among the most popular soft drinks in each country. Coca-Cola was undisputed leader in Australia and New Zealand, and Big Cola tops the list in Indonesia.
“The leading soft drink in the Antipodes, Coca Cola is consumed by 3,745,000 Australians and 898,000 Kiwis in any given seven days, with other Coke sub-brands also among the top five soft drinks in each country,” said Michele Levine, Roy Morgan Research CEO. “Meanwhile, Peruvian brand Big Cola reigns supreme in Indonesia, being consumed by almost as many people as the total population of Australia in an average seven days,” she said.
In New Zealand, one-quarter of the population drink Coca Cola in an average seven days, more than twice the amount who consume the second-most popular brand, Sprite (12 per cent). Coca Cola Zero (10 per cent) is in third position, but local brand Lemon & Paeroa (also known as L&P) is snapping at its heels.
Big Cola is Indonesia’s most popular soft drink, consumed by 14 per cent of the population (or 21,480,000 people) in an average seven-day period. However, its lead is not as emphatic as that of Coca Cola in Australia and New Zealand. Second favourite, Fanta, is drunk by just over 12 per cent of Indonesians, while the third-most popular brand, Coca Cola, is enjoyed by a fraction less than 12 per cent (still around 20 million Indonesians).
“The popularity of Fanta in Indonesia highlights how different these three markets are, notwithstanding their mutual love of cola,” Ms Levine said. “In Australia, Fanta only just scrapes into the Top 10, being placed ninth. In New Zealand, it is the eighth-most popular soft drink,” she said.
“The ever-changing soft-drink market is competitive at the best of times, but for brands wishing to succeed in different countries, the challenge is even greater,” Ms Levine said. “A detailed understanding of the differences and similarities between their current and potential markets is crucial if they are to get ahead and stay ahead,” she said.
