What do cola and chips have in common?

Due to the corona crisis, many markets are different. Anyone who thought that sales of fries would never encounter problems again and would only grow annually has known since March of this year that such markets do not exist. Sooner or later there will be setbacks, regardless of the market.

Coca-Cola suffers from lockdown
Due to the lockdowns and the closure of the catering industry, cola sales fell. Looking back at sales in the third quarter of this year, it can be concluded that sales have indeed been hit, but less hard than first thought.

The cancellation of festivals and sporting events such as Formula 1 and the Tour de France have resulted in fewer sales of cola, but this was partly made up for by people who spent the holidays in their own country. In the second quarter, Coca-Cola achieved a 28% decline in sales. In the third quarter this was 'only' 9% and this improved sales is mainly attributed to the relaxation of the corona measures. Hotels, restaurants and cafes are responsible for about half of Coca-Cola's turnover.

Similar chip market
It is remarkable that sales of fries show a similar pattern. Sales there were also hit hard when the first corona measures were announced. When it became clear that out-of-home consumption was no longer an option in the coming months, the consumer turned out to own the deep fryer. This boosted sales of frozen fries through retail. Expansion of restrictions imposed on the catering industry led to a further recovery in French fries sales.

Now that there is a resurgence of the coronavirus in many European countries, described by some as a tsunami, governments are introducing new, stricter measures that further restrict the movements of citizens. This will undoubtedly have consequences for the sales of fries and probably also of Coca-Cola. It is not without reason that Coca-Cola has indicated that it will cut costs in order to ultimately limit the financial consequences of the decline in turnover.