Soft drink marketing should target middle-aged consumers, research shows

The bright young things typically featured on soft drink ads may not be the consumers most likely to buy the product they’re advertising, new research shows.

Sharp declines in soft drink consumers under the age of 35 mean that middle-aged Australians (aged 35 to 49) are now the group most likely to buy a soft drink in an average week, new research from Roy Morgan Research shows.

In the 12 months to June 2009, approximately two in three Australians aged 14-25 or 25-34 had some soft drink in an average week. By June 2013, the consumption rate in both of these age brackets had declined 9% to 56 and 57% respectively.

Average number of glasses of soft drink per week. Source: Roy Morgan Research.

Consumption did also decline among 35-49 year olds, but only by 3% to 58%. Soft drink remains least popular among those aged 50+, with weekly consumption now at 40%, down from 44% in 2009.

In total, 50% of Australians aged 14+ consume soft drink in a seven-day period, down from 56% in 2009.

Younger consumers who do still buy soft drink are drinking less of it: the average weekly intake declined by 1.2 glasses to 5.5 per week among consumers under 25, and by 0.6 glasses to 6.3 per week among 25-34 year olds.

When combined with the decline in overall consumption rates, this equates to around 5 million fewer glasses of soft drink being consumed per week by Australians under 35.

Older groups, however, have increased their consumption slightly. Consumers aged 35-49 now drink an average of seven glasses per week (up 0.1), while consumers over 50 drink 6.1 (up 0.2). Overall weekly intake declined from 6.6 to 6.3 glasses.

“As Australians become increasingly health conscious, we are seeing the number of soft drink consumers decrease. However, soft drink consumption behaviours differ among age groups. Those under 35 are more likely now to drink none or less, while heavier consumption appears to be entrenched among those over 35,” said Angela Smith, Group Account Manager - Consumer Product, Roy Morgan Research.

“As the number of young Australians who drink soft drink continues to drop, soft drink distributors and marketers will need to gain a better understanding of their new target market in order to stay competitive.”