We buy non-alcoholic beverages less often

Mineral waters, fruit juices, carbonated soft drinks and ice teas make up the non-alcoholic beverage category, in which Hungarian households consumed 7 percent less products in January-September 2009 than a year earlier – GfK Hungária’s ConsumerScan data reveal. Mineral water is the biggest segment, covering two thirds of the category in terms of volume; however, due to its lower average price it only represents less than two fifths of the category in value. In the examined period, mineral water volume sales diminished the least, by 4 percent, while carbonated soft drinks were down by 9 percent (with cola drinks falling above the average). Fruit juice sales fell by 13 percent and ice teas plummeted by 16 percent (but the average prices in these segments grew, therefore turnover shrank by less than 10 percent). The average buying household purchased 278 litres of mineral water and soft drinks in the first nine months of 2009.