Different trends for light milk and light soft drinks

According to data from the GfK Hungária ConsumerScan, the popularity of both low and high fat content milks increased in the first nine months of 2008, but that of normal milk continued to decline. The market share of light soft drinks showed stagnation in the same period. The percentage of households buying milk also stagnated at 94 percent, but the frequency of purchases dropped. Sales of milks with a higher fat content than 2.9 percent showed an increase of 2 percent in terms of quantity, compared to 2007. The market share of the 1.6–2.8 percent fat content segment has been shrinking gradually in recent years (55 percent in 2005, and 34 percent in 2008), with low fat milk becoming the largest segment. Younger households are over-represented among consumers of low fat milk, while high fat content is preferred by the 50+ age groups. Higher income consumers are also over represented in the consumption of low fat milk. Among carbonated soft drinks, light product versions showed stagnation in 2008, accounting for roughly one-quarter of total sales both in terms of quantity and value. In terms of the number of consumers, there are no marked differences between age groups, but younger age groups are slightly over-represented among consumers of light products. Similarly, there is no strong correlation between income and preference for light products. However, there is some correlation between the size of settlements and the popularity of light products, with smaller settlements being under-represented in the consumption of light products.