Status: 08/03/2022 3:17 p.m
The world’s leading manufacturers of soft drinks are withdrawing from their Russian business. Meanwhile, a local company gets ready to fill the gap left by the big guys.
Russian lemonade maker Chernogolovka wants to grab half of the multi-billion dollar domestic soft drinks market. The world’s leading manufacturers Coca-Cola and Pepsi have withdrawn from this market as a result of global sanctions against Russia and will no longer be available in Russia once stocks are sold.
“We were, are and will be the largest Russian beverage manufacturer,” said CEO Natalia Sachnina in an interview with the Reuters news agency. “We hope and are working to achieve absolute leadership in the Russian market.” The long-term goal is a market share of 50 percent. According to data provider Statista, the total turnover in the Russian soft drinks market amounts to 8.8 billion dollars.
Chernogolowka has already doubled its business this year. The aim is to expand the market share to 30 percent within two years – from 8.5 percent at the end of 2021. Chernogolovka – named after the city around 40 kilometers northeast of Moscow in which it was founded in 1998 – produces snacks, mineral water, herbal lemonades, Energy drinks and, since May, Cola Tschernogolowka.
market has a lot of potential
According to NielsenIQ Russia, this new cola brand – together with a competing product – was already able to achieve a sales share of five percent in the first half of 2022. “This year we’re in [den Cola-Verkauf] stepped in, and that coincided with the departure of the international players. So when we assess our prospects and ambitions, they are almost limitless,” Sachnina said.
Since April, Chernogolovka has been supplying the Russian branches of Burger King and KFC with soft drinks, as well as Vkusno & tochka. This is the rebranded McDonald’s restaurant chain, which opened after the sale of the world’s largest fast-food chain to a local licensee, Sachnina said.