Rtd market dries up

Arriving as a serious contender for beer, ready-to-drink beverages (RTD), where the main players are Bacardi Breezer, Havana Loco and Campari Mixx, died out very quickly after a dazzling start two years ago. RTD are bottled mixtures of strong alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The main players on this market decided either to negatively revise their sales targets, or to no longer focus so much on this type of drinks amid weak sales. “Though initial sales were encouraging, after consumers” curiosity faded, the market fell 50% in 2004 and probably by another 20% in 2005. The reasons are linked to the too high prices, and discrimination against beer: though having the same 5% alcohol content as beer, RTDs are treated as spirits and carry fiscal stamps and 60% customs duties. This leads to a price of about 3 euros against the 2 euros in Western Europe”, says Corneliu Valsan, general manager with Pernod Ricard Romania. ZF