Best Soft Drink Brands On Social Media
Soft drinks are defined as “a non-alcoholic drink that usually contains carbonated water, a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavouring.” In the old days, soft drinks meant Coca Cola, Pepsi or one of the other giant. Social media was either on the red team or the blue team. In 2021, things have evolved and the soft drinks market is packed with new, exciting brands. In this article, the Moondust Agency team is looking at marketing for the soft drinks sector. And we’re digging into 3 soft drinks brands you may not have heard of, but should definitely watch on social media!
Photo by Haneen Krimly on Unsplash
The Soft Drinks Sector in 2021
· Unlike alcohol, soft drinks were the most successful segment of the fast-moving consumer goods market during the pandemic.
· Coca-Cola increased its value 7.4% from 2020 and PepsiCo rose 14.2% on a pandemic-fuelled surge in snack demand. However, to remain competitive, Coca-Cola made the decision to drop 200 brands globally and focus on its best sellers.
· An interesting trend is alcohol brands “spiking” traditionally non-alcoholic beverages. Things like old fashioned lemonade and coffee are popular choices. “Hard coffee”, saw an 11,000% percent spike in sales. (now we know why some people look so happy drinking their coffee on Zoom).
· Health and wellness are top consumer priorities, especially following covid19. First you have concerns over the actual virus itself, and then you have the resulting consumer weight gain and health issues. And 33 grams of sugar in an average soda is a lot! The market is seeing an increasing number of brands going sugar free and incorporating vitamins, nutrients, CBD, probiotics, energising or relaxing properties, cleaner ingredients, mood boosters and stress relievers into their soft drinks.
· Another critical topic is the environment and sustainability. Not only for the plastic containers that most soft drinks come in, but also the water itself. Many consumers have been tuned in to Netflix shows like Rotten that candidly discuss the food and beverage sector. In the show, an episode entitled “Troubled Water” shows the impact a company like Nestlé has on towns that rely on their water sources but consume it for themselves to create their own branded water products. 65% of consumers in the UK and 53% in the US prefer products that are environmentally friendly, so this is an issue soft drinks manufacturers must address. It also opens the door for environmentally friendly, healthy soft drinks.
· Quirky mixers are on the rise too. In March 2021, PepsiCo unveiled Neon Zebra it’s range of quirky mixers for the party at home/ home cocktail market they anticipate in a post covid19 world.
So, with these trends in mind, which soft drinks brands are winning at social media? Let’s dig in.
#1 Remedy Drinks
Melbourne couple, Sarah and Emmet Condon, started Remedy on their kitchen bench in 2012. We love brands with a backstory as this adds to their authenticity and likability. Something that’s increasingly important to millennials and GenZ. Their story starts like this:
“We could tell you that when Sarah and Emmet Condon started Remedy in their kitchen they had no idea what lay ahead. But we’d be lying. They had an inkling. They’d been making kombucha for a while. Their kids were into it. Their mates were hooked. Family members were dropping by more often for a taste.”
Kombucha is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink commonly consumed for its purported health benefits and the brand makes a variety of flavours.
In addition to a very Aussie style down to earth website, the brand also wins on social media with some very savvy techniques.
What They Get Right
· They aligned themselves with a nutritionist- Jacqueline Alwill is on the Remedy team as their official nutritionist. She shares her qualified and trusted health and wellness knowledge as well as recipes. We love that the recipes are off brand too like this one on their Facebook page. It’s important for brands to be useful to their audience. Hitting the social media feeds with chocolate recipes around Easter is a winner.
· They teamed up with fitness influencers on IG. Ambassador @samjameswood provides awesome ad break workouts on Remedydrink’s channel. This is a smart move because it again reiterates that this is a healthy brand providing useful fitness tips.
· They team up with lifestyle influencers for some great user generated content. Like this post from @misscharlot. These posts showcase the brand as a fun, family friendly choice for soft drinks. They also expose the brand to tons more potential customers.
· They align themselves with meaningful causes. Like “I quit Sugar”. Being able to align your soft drink with a certifiable health organisation related to no sugar, diabetes or a healthy event like a marathon or triathlon is huge. This shows consumers you are a genuine brand that has been recognised as being healthier. And as we discussed above, that’s a big plus point right now.
· They have a great blog. We’re big fans of blogging here at Moondust and we love Remedy’s blog which is relatable, helpful and friendly. Just to quote an extract of this blog:
Gone are the days where you would be in the clubs until 4 AM, as you have a strict sleep schedule to stick to since listening to that one podcast. Nowadays, you're in bed early every night having "screen-free" time, treating yourself to a medicinal mushroom and ashwagandha hot cacao whilst re-reading your dog-eared copy of the Power of Now. OK, So maybe you're not quite there yet, but here are some of the signs you're getting healthier!
We were entertained, amused and encouraged reading their blog and that’s exactly the point. Consumers don’t want to be lectured about diet and fitness. They want information, encouragement and a fun approach to improving themselves.
#2 Poppi Drinks
The first thing that hits you when you encounter Poppi online is “WOW those colours!” While many soft drinks are heading towards white, minimalist packaging, Poppi is all about the bright, fun colours.
Another great husband and wife brand, it won investment from Shark Tank and went on to become known as a tasty but healthy soft drinks brand. The product’s differentiator is that they contain natural prebiotics from unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar known to be a digestive health powerhouse. They also promote fresh fruit, under 5g of sugar, less than 20 cals per can, fat-free, Gluten-free, Non-GMO and Vegan. So a very impressive repertoire for the consumer but what about their marketing? Let’s look.
What They Get Right
· Let’s talk again about that branding. The colours and fonts used online by Poppi match the colours and fonts on the cans. Sounds obvious, but actually not many brands do this and it’s an incredible imprint for shoppers scanning the shelves. Additionally, research shows that humans are unable to remember colors very far beyond the basic primary color wheel. So, these bright, primary colours are perfect for jogging memories.
· Their Instagram is a happy place! Focusing mainly on IG and Facebook for social media is a smart move because it allows Poppi to be dedicated to their target audience. We love their IG channel, which is bright, well organised and packed with nice highlights.
· They gave meaningful reasons to choose their drinks. Their benefits 101 list includes things like gut health, better complexion, helps aid weight loss, lowers cholesterol and so on. It’s written in a fun and easy to understand way that captures audience attention. Presenting information in broken down bullet point form is successful for maintaining attention and accommodating readers who scan.
· They ask engaging questions. Social media is a two way street so asking questions and engaging your audience is key. And if you’re asking questions, it’s good to reply too! You wouldn’t ask a question in real life then walk away … right?
· Their ingredients list posts are awesome. Those of you drinking mainstream sodas will know that the ingredients list is long and a bit scary. Packed with preservatives, colourings and words we can’t pronounce. So, if your soft drink is pure and healthy, why not promote that with fun, social media friendly images like this one.
· We love the alignment with fashion and fashion influencers. Check out this IG story which showcases how gel nails can match cans. Very Instagram!
And in fact, the brand is aligned with the health and beauty space showing photos like this which back up the need to have Poppi in your beauty cabinet. Smart.
· They publish great testimonials on social media. These add trust, authenticity and interest to posts. This is especially true when they feature very high follower accounts like @byrdie with 500K+ followers
#3 Spindrift
Spindrift was founded by Bill Creelman and it’s the very first sparkling water in America made with real squeezed fruit. Spindrift debuted in the artisan Boston-area where it caught the eye of local foodies and craft beverage fans. Now it has a cult following across US retail outlets. We love the team page on this site. Transparent, real and fun. Check it out.
And the human to human approach is something Spindrift does well on their website and social media. Putting faces to the team, farmers and consumers makes this a relatable brand. It’s an approach that the big soft drinks brands have tried to replicate many times but it doesn’t really come across as genuine.
What They Get Right
· We love the focus on farmers. With beautiful photos, information about the farmers and a map of the farms, this is great info for consumers. Today’s soft drinks consumers increasingly care about what’s in their food and drinks with most favouring ethical brands with natural ingredients.
“Behind that real fruit is a whole barn-load of real farmers. It took us a while to find them, but from our citrus to our cucumber and from every corner of the country, we work with the right people in the right places.”
· They’re on Pinterest and we’re here for it! Their Pinterest boards are all about fun, adventure, happiness and nature. Their around the web board is all the different reviews and media mentions for the drinks. Very smart.
· They kept their alcoholic brand separate. Remember earlier we discussed the “spiked drinks” trend? Well, Spindrift retweeted Spindrift Spiked, their new alcoholic brand showing how they kept the brands separate on social media. And further digging shows that they kept the brands entirely separate with a different website for Spiked. And they’re right to do that. The target audience may be very different, healthy juice drinkers don’t necessarily want alcohol. Plus, there’s the age factor. The website for Spiked has an age capture on the homepage. Something the original Spindrift wouldn’t need to do as their products can be consumed by all ages. This separation allows for different marketing and targeting too.
If you signup on Spiked and your age isn’t 21 or over, you’re redirected back to the nonalcoholic drinks site. Clever.
· They keep it people focused on IG- We love this 2021 team photo especially as the team definitely weren’t posing for a photo. This is so relatable.
· They support restaurant workers. Aligning themselves to charitable giving in their sector is a smart move. Matching donations for restaurant workers affected by shutdowns during covid19 was relevant and positioned them well with the sector and their target audience. We love to see community and charity alignment, especially when it is genuine and relevant as it is here.
- They share recipes- You don’t need to be a food brand to share recipes. This video recipe for jello featuring Cranberry Raspberry with CEO @thev1ve -TV Personality, Photographer and host of Podcast @shakenandstirredshow totally nails it.
· They include user generated content (UGC). We love this Facebook post which is on trend as “van life” and “small house living” is social media gold dust right now. Sharing content from IG users to your Facebook is quite common practice and increases the power of those UGC posts
