Coca-Cola is axing its two-litre bottles of Coke as part of what it claims is its biggest range shake-up in 30 years.
The two-litre ‘straightwall’ format is being replaced in supermarkets from March with the 1.75-litre contoured bottle introduced in c-stores last year. Bottler Coca-Cola Enterprises claimed the smaller size was more suited to the growing trend for convenience.
CCE is also introducing a one-litre bottle (rsp: £1.49) and a multipack of four 1.5-litre bottles in the contoured design (rsp: £5), and will be rolling out the existing 1.25-litre format in the new look (rsp: £1.55). All formats will roll out across Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero.
The 1.75-litre bottle carries an rsp of £1.85 compared with the £2.05 rsp of the two-litre format.
After promotional activity, the average price of a two-litre bottle across the big four supermarkets has been £1.33 over the past 12 months – but it has fallen as low as 99p.
The launches followed research that showed customers preferred the contoured bottle, said CCE, adding that the move was also a response to changing consumer habits. “Shopping habits are evolving, with small basket shops now increasingly frequent - particularly in smaller households,” said CCE VP for sales and marketing Nick Canney. There was a trend towards convenience-style shopping even in larger supermarkets, he added. Kantar data for the year to July 2013 showed small-basket shops accounted for 56% of superstore visits.
CCE would be putting “massive” above-the-line spend behind the launch, said Canney.
When CCE launched the 1.75-litre bottle in c-stores, it was billed as a move to differentiate the convenience offer from the supermarkets’. Some retailers said it was unfair as supermarkets would continue to stock two-litre bottles in convenience stores.
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