Summary
Slow growth of the economy and a declining unemployment rate helped generate retail sales in Q4-15 and a good performance for the soft drinks sector. Strong gains in packaged water and carbonates allowed all commercial beverages to enjoy a positive final quarter. Sugared/sweetened flavoured waters also captured attention as they are perceived as healthier than classical carbonates. Overall gains in dairy drinks were modest as the government financed marketing campaigns to encourage consumption of quality Hungarian dairy products.

Key Findings
- Low prices especially from Private Label brands attracted consumers to packaged water during Quarter 4

- Flavoured waters are seen as healthy, thirst quenching and inexpensive soft drinks, with many exciting new flavor offerings

- Dairy drinks are in crisis; the raw milk purchase price is very low and there are still cheap imported dairy products in retail stores

- With no increases in excise duty affecting the beer category in 2015, the small premium segment of hand crafted beers helped boost quarterly volumes

- Cider is capturing interest but the lack of popularity in rural areas remains a barrier

Synopsis
Canadean's Hungary Quarterly Beverage Tracker Q4-15 covering soft drinks, dairy drinks, hot drinks and alcoholic drinks is an essential tool for keeping up-to-date with the latest industry performance and developments on a quarterly basis, covering:

- Topline consumption volumes for Q4-2015 vs Q4-2014, moving annual totals (MAT), full year 2015 provisional data and 2016 forecasts for all beverage categories

- Carbonates consumption data for Q4-2015 vs Q4-2014, moving annual totals (MAT), full year 2015 provisional data and 2016 forecasts split by regular vs low calorie, and key flavour

- An economic mood indicator with an at a glance assessment of industry confidence levels, private label performance vs brands and price trends

- Insightful and valuable analysis of the drivers behind the latest quarterly trends and assumptions for full year 2016

- Analysis of significant activity in the soft drinks market, including new product introductions (ranked by brand owner and detailing flavour, pack type/size, retail price and selected product shots)

- Update on important soft drinks corporate activity

- Quarterly selected retail price movements for key brands by category covering the most recent five quarters

- Our Q4 special focus update on the latest trends in functional and flavoured waters

Reasons To Buy
- Gain an in-depth understanding of the most up-to-date trends in the Hungary beverage industry to support and enhance your strategic planning

- Investigate the latest quarterly and emerging annual trends in Hungary to back your marketing initiatives

- Analyse the latest beverage category 2016 forecast projections to make well-informed decisions on the outlook in the marketplace for your company

- View a selection of the key quarterly new soft drinks product launches and identify competitor activity

- Access a quarterly Special Focus on a current industry 'hot topic' offering qualitative insight from local consultants to determine opportunities for product innovation