Soft Drinks, Juices and Mixers - Interview for Pub and Bar magazine

How important are soft drinks to the on-trade?

“With the total soft drinks market currently worth £15.6 billion and with the percentage of adults preferring to not drink alcohol when out of home increasing by 40% since 2005, soft drinks can sometimes be the difference between consumers choosing to visit an establishment or not.  Operators should be looking to enhance their soft drinks offering with key favourites to ensure they are hitting the mark.”

How can operators create and promote an interesting and appealing soft drink offer, both for children and non-drinkers?

“As with eating out, non-drinking consumers are looking for higher quality products or something ‘special’ that they might not drink at home.  It is particularly important to bear this in mind when it comes to a water offering − still the most popular soft drink on the market.  Consumers are turning away from costly, environmentally unfriendly bottled water, as sustainability remains high on the agenda.  That is not to say they would rather have tap water, which can be chlorinated and less than fresh tasting.  As a result, forward thinking operators are switching to filtered water systems, such as those provided by Eau de Vie, as a sustainable ‘third way’.

"Not only do these systems guarantee the highest quality beverage options for children and non-drinkers, they are also capable of producing unlimited amounts of still and sparkling water, meaning establishments will never run low on stock or have to pay high energy costs to refrigerate bottled water.   As well as this, many pub and bar owners experiment with the levels of gas used to carbonate the water for a signature fizz, to best compliment their drinks range and provide an interesting beverage offering.

"In order to promote their sustainable, unique and high-quality beverage offering, pub and bar owners are investing in Eau de Vie''s systems which can be custom made with branded taps and accompanying branded glass bottles to serve the drinks in.  This provides a unique branding opportunity and communicates the sustainable source of the water offering."