Almost half of UK consumers intend to spend on Valentine’s Day this year or have already started to spend on it. This is an uplift on 2024 and has been driven by those aged 25-34. With this age group more likely to have young families, consumers plan to buy for partners and significant loved ones such as children and friends. Retailers have the opportunity to utilise the popularity of this occasion among these shoppers to encourage larger basket sizes and boost average spending, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s latest report, “Retail Occasions: Valentine’s Day Intentions 2025,” reveals 69.3 % of UK 25–34-year-olds intend to spend on this occasion, marking a 7.8 percentage points (ppts) uplift on 2024 intentions. This age group will account for almost a quarter of Valentine’s Day shoppers in 2025, meaning this is a core target demographic for retailers.
Zoe Mills, Lead Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Intention to spend on Valentine’s Day is high, but few consumers have started to spend on this occasion so far in January, meaning retailers still have plenty of time to entice shoppers to purchase. The grocers are in the best position, with the intention to spend the highest among the food & drink and gifting categories. Romance-themed meal deals including prosecco/champagne, should be promoted at the front of stores.
“However, with the target audience likely to have children, retailers should also include Valentine’s Day-themed products that appeal to a much younger audience. Retailers should emulate Marks & Spencer’s range, including items like Love Hearts Biscuit Kits, enabling adults and children to decorate heart-themed biscuits.”
While partners are the main recipients among Valentine’s Day gift shoppers, more consumers intend to spend on their children for the event, highlighting that this occasion is not just about romantic love but also familial love, coupled with self-love and the appreciation of one’s friends.
Mills continues: “There is ample opportunity for retailers to broaden their reach with this occasion and ensuring a variety of more generic love-themed designs will enable their products to be gifted to a broad range of recipients. 11.9% of Valentine’s shoppers intend to purchase gifts for friends, up 3.2ppts on 2024. This trend is driven by Gen Z consumers, with 59% of this generation stating that Valentine’s Day is not just an occasion to treat their partner and that they like to buy gifts or cards for other loved ones. Events such as Galentine’s Day parties, celebrating friendship, may still be niche but must not be ignored by retailers.”
GlobalData expects that food & drink gifts will be the most popular among Valentine’s Day shoppers, and retailers must ensure plenty of food & drink gift sets to appeal to shoppers, focusing on confectionery and alcoholic drink gift sets.
Mills concludes: “Retailers must focus on food & drink gifts, where the intention to spend is high. The higher intention to spend on these items also implies that Valentine’s Day gifts are more of a token than an excuse to splurge on premium options such as fine jewellery, and retailers must ensure a broad pricing architecture to appeal. Flowers are also an accessible option for male Valentine’s Day shoppers, and providing a broad range to cater to different colour preferences is crucial. Red roses or red & pink bouquets should not be the only options; fun and colourful bouquets could appeal to those looking for something less traditional and more generally to those seeking these gifts for friends.”
Refresco, the world’s largest independent bottler for retailers and A-brands in Europe and North America, publishes the second quarter and half-year 2021 results of Refresco Group B.V.1
Q2 2021 Highlights
Total volume was 3,204 million liters (Q2 2020: 2,983 million liters).
Gross profit margin was €531 million (Q2 2020: €477 million).
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €159 million (Q2 2020: €138 million).
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q2 2021 were €504 million (June 30, 2020: €314 million).
Announced acquisition of HANSA-HEEMANN, a major German mineral water and CSD company, on July 8, 2021.
Announced agreement with The Coca-Cola Company to acquire three of its production locations in the US, on August 3, 2021.
Half-year 2021 Highlights
Total volume was 5,986 million liters (YTD 2020: 5,745 million liters).
Gross profit margin was €1,009 million (YTD 2020: €925 million).
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €278 million (YTD 2020: €241 million).
Key figures
(Photo: Refresco)
CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs commented:
“We are pleased to report a strong performance in the second quarter of 2021. We have been able to accelerate our growth in volume and profitability this quarter, ending the first six months of 2021 with good results. We have strengthened the business organically by growing along with our customers, specifically in Contract Manufacturing. As we move into the second half of the year, we are facing increasing cost pressure on commodities and transportation, with higher inflation levels across all regions in which we operate.
On July 8, 2021, we announced the acquisition of HANSA-HEEMANN, a major German mineral water and CSD company. This acquisition will allow us to further improve our operational excellence, diversify our business and product offering, and will enable us to offer nationwide coverage to German retailers. With its five production sites spread across Germany, this acquisition is highly complementary. We look forward to welcoming HANSA-HEEMANN to Refresco, pending regulatory approval.
On August 2, 2021, we closed the acquisition of SEBB with one production site in Dade City, Florida, US. The acquisition expands our incubation capabilities for Contract Manufacturing customers looking for flexibility as they launch new, complex and innovative products. As their need for production capacity increases, customers will be able to leverage our existing footprint across North America.
On August 3, 2021, we announced that we have entered into an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company to acquire three of its production facilities in the United States, pending regulatory approval. The ongoing trend of A-brands outsourcing their production capabilities continues to provide opportunities for us as an independent beverage solution provider. With manufacturing and supply chain being at the heart of our business, the acquisition of three Coca-Cola facilities in the US is another step forward in our growth strategy.
With these strong financial results, our well-balanced customer base across Europe and North America, and our robust M&A approach, we continue to pursue our ambition of Our Drinks On Every Table.”
1All values are rounded to the nearest million unless otherwise stated. 2Net debt as at June 30, 2020 includes €117 million shareholder funding; in Q4 2020, the shareholder loan plus accrued interest have been converted into equity.
Refresco publishes fourth quarter and full year 2018 results of Sunshine Top B.V., the entity owning Refresco Group B.V.
Q4 2018 Highlights
Total volume was 2,556 million liters (Q4 2017: 1,525 million liters).
Gross profit margin per liter was 14.3 euro cents (Q4 2017: 14.6 euro cents).
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €82 million (Q4 2017: €50 million).
FY 2018 Highlights
Total volume was 10,888 million liters (FY 2017: 7,104 million liters).
Gross profit margin per liter was 14.0 euro cents (FY 2017: 14.0 euro cents).
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to €322 million (FY 2017: €214 million).
Pro-forma synergies adjusted EBITDA amounted to €374 million.
One-off acquisition costs and operating cost overruns reflected in net results.
Net debt excluding shareholder funding amounted to €2,273 million at year-end (September 30, 2018: €2,300 million).
CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs commented:
“2018 was a transformational year for Refresco. In January we completed the acquisition of Cott’s bottling business, creating the world’s largest independent bottler for retailers and branded beverage companies and in March we completed the public to private transaction by PAI and BCI. In the final quarter of 2018, we continued to see strong overall volume growth across the business in line with our expectations and driven by both the Cott acquisition and organic growth. Although we did not achieve the level of profitability we wanted, we made good progress with integration of the two businesses and synergies are on track.
“One-off costs related to the acquisition of Cott’s bottling business and acquisition of Refresco by PAI & BCI, overruns in operating costs and some headwinds on input costs were the key items impacting our net results for the year.
“In 2018 we worked hard on the building blocks for further profitable growth in 2019 and we invested €134 million in our production and warehousing capabilities across the business. In February 2019, I was pleased to announce that we acquired Cott’s concentrate manufacturing business in Columbus, Georgia (US). This creates a global center of excellence in beverage concentrate manufacturing and adds new innovations skills and capabilities to our Group.
“To accelerate the next phase of our growth, we have decided to adjust the management structure of Refresco and create an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will comprise the current Executive Board members and as of 1 April 2019 Chief Purchasing Officer (CPO) Coert Michielsen. The Executive Committee will be installed on 1 April 2019.” …
Personalised food, vegetable proteins with the bite of meat or production on demand; digitally controlled food production enables innovations which were inconceivable until very recently. From 29 June, businesses can address all their questions about digital technology to the Digital Food Processing Initiative (DFPI), a cooperative venture between Wageningen University & Research, TNO, AMSYSTEMS Center and Eindhoven University of Technology.
The launch of the Digital Food Processing Initiative will take place on 29 June during the 3D Food Printing Experience at the Wageningen campus. “We provide companies with insight into the possibilities and support them with knowledge about food and high-tech systems,” says Ben Langelaan, research manager Food Technology in Wageningen UR and member of the DFPI steering group. “This helps them more easily translate ideas to the market.”
The ambition of the DFPI is to be the global consortium for digitally controlled food production. “Our combined expertise of food and digital technology is unique, which is why we can really help companies move forward,” adds Pieter Debrauwer, research manager at TNO/AMSYSTEMS Center and member of the DFPI steering group. “Sometimes it may be necessary to change the recipe in order to create an attractive product, while at other times the equipment needs adapting in order to realise the right process conditions.”
More than 3D printing
DFPI focuses on five innovation themes: sustainability, personalised food, on-demand food production, new forms and flavours, and new social experiences. While the main food applications to date have been related to 3D printing – such as new shapes of pasta – both organisations expect digital techniques to have a much larger social impact.
On-demand production, for example, could lead to less food waste, while personalised food can help produce special high-protein products for the elderly or athletes. 3D printing can change the functionality of food via the development of new structures, textures and flavours, which could have potential for people who have difficulty swallowing. Digital techniques are expected to drastically change the production, location and logistics of food production.
Introduction
Food producers, ingredient suppliers, machinery manufacturers, caterers, retailers and other interested parties can have a first look on 29 June at the options for digital food processing. The introduction will include various demonstrations of 3D food printing and presentations on the successful application of digital techniques in the food industry. Professor Arthur Mol, Rector Magnificus and vice-president of the WUR Executive Board, will officially launch the DFPI at 11.30. More information about the programme and registration is available via www.wur.eu/3dfoodprinting.
For questions about partner projects, interested parties can contact program manager Joost Blankestijn at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (joost.blankestijn@wur.nl) or Daniel van der Linden at TNO/AMSYSTEMS Center (daniel.vanderlinden@tno.nl).
Initiators
DFPI is a joint initiative of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, the Wageningen chair groups Food Process Engineering and Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, and AMSYSTEMS Center, a partnership between TNO Equipment for Additive Manufacturing and TU Eindhoven High Tech Systems Center.
Over the first two months of 2018 UK retailers Waitrose, Tesco, Co-op, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons – the UK’s seven largest food retailers – all implemented their own bans on the sale of energy drinks to children. This is despite the lack of any formal direction or regulation from the UK government, observes GlobalData a leading data and analytics company.
In March 2018 Boots became the first non-supermarket retailer to join them. Specifically, this means banning the sale of products with a caffeine content of more than 150 mg per litre to under-16s. The fact this potentially profit limiting step has been taken without government regulation or a call for retailers to take voluntary action is unusual, but emphasises the importance large retail chains place on maintaining a responsible brand image.
Associate Analyst at GlobalData, William Grimwade commented, “Major retailers have become extremely concerned about monitoring opinion of themselves on social media, and the highly competitive nature of British supermarket retailing means retailers do not want to be seen to be out of step with their competitors on issues like this”.
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has gone as far as attributing some cases of poor behaviour of children in schools to high energy drink consumption. The #NotforChildren campaign has become prominent on social media among a variety of stakeholders, including health concerned celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, the charity Action on Sugar, the MP Maria Caulfield and NASUWT, the teachers union.
Grimwade adds, „Retailers and energy drinks producers are also likely to suffer from the introduction of the sugar tax in the UK from 8th April 2018. The vast majority of energy drinks brands rely on sugar, as well as caffeine and other additives, to allow them to give the consumer the energy rush their brand depends on. This means that they will be unable to reduce sugar content and their prices in independent retailers still selling them to under 16’s will be forced upwards, compounding the effect of the supermarkets ban.“
