STEPHEN THOMPSON Marketing director for Morning Noon & Night There is one major difference between Scotland and the rest of the world when it comes to soft drinks, and that's Coca Cola. That brand is the biggest soft drink in every country worldwide except Scotland, where Irn Bru is the largest. The past year has seen fewer product launches than for many years, which is a relief because too many new soft drinks brands were launched, but failed to make a long term mark. The market is being driven by big brands and therefore any new product either has to be launched by one of the big companies, which has huge advertising, or be something different. Huge advertising cannot always guarantee success. Look at Mountain Dew. It is a good product but the advertising was more for an established brand than a new one. The two major success stories of 1997 have been Ribena Twist and Schweppes Sparkling. Both have quickly established themselves in the market and are backed by major companies in Coca Cola Schweppes Enterprises and SmithKline Beecham. The growth within the convenience sector has come from 500ml PET, while the 330ml cans are in huge decline. This is due to the many benefits ­ a 500ml PET, for example, can be resealed. The marketing expenditure of Coca Cola, Britvic, SmithKline Beecham and A G Barr has continued to increase and most newcomers cannot compete with their strength. The relaunch of Pepsi in the blue can has not worked. Britvic's success story must be Tango which continues to go from strength to strength, despite a poorer market share in Scotland.The major companies are also investing a large amount of money in chillers. This is the only way now to sell one shot drinks, ie 330ml and 500ml.{{FEATURES }}