No Big Turnaround Predicted for Drinks Volumes in 2010

BASINGSTOKE, England, February 23, 2010 - Canadean's recently published Quarterly Beverage Tracker points to a
marginal improvement in the prospects for commercial beverage volumes in
2010. Canadean consultants anticipate that the West European beverage market
will see the smallest of contractions in 2010; this compares to the 0.4%
decline seen in 2009. According to Canadean, the mood on the ground remains
subdued, with industry confidence levels in most markets remaining uncertain
or deteriorating, with the exception of just Austria, Finland, Italy, the UK
and perhaps surprisingly Greece.

2010 West Europe Forecast Consumption by Category

    West Europe             % Change
                          2009-2010F
    Soft Drinks                + 0.3
    Hot Drinks                 + 0.2
    Dairy Drinks               - 0.3
    Alcoholic Drinks           - 1.0

Source: Canadean

What little improvement there will be, can be traced to a projected
slowdown in the rate of decline of the alcoholic soft drinks sector. In 2009
alcoholic drinks volumes dropped by more than 2%, a figure that is forecast
to slow down to a 1% loss in 2010. Beer in particular was hit by the sharp
drop in on-premise footfall last year and sales volume across West Europe
fell by nearly 3%. The economic climate meant West Europeans spent a lot less
on eat and drinking out last year. On a brighter note, some markets were
beginning to show signs of Horeca improvement in the last quarter of the
year.

Soft drinks recorded a small volume rise last year, but Canadean is not
anticipating demand to accelerate as markets emerge from the gloom of the
downturn. The summer of 2009 was actually notably hotter than 2008 in certain
key markets and this was responsible for much of the upswing. In 2010, water
is set to record another loss, while carbonates are predicted to increase
again. The region's biggest category with more than 30% of volumes has been
helped by the shift from on to off premise, with consumers buying bigger unit
sizes to take home and drink than they would if they were eating or drinking
out. Squashes may be small in some markets but these drinks are generally
considered the most economic form of refreshment and it was noticeable that
volumes increased by 3% in 2009, a figure that is predicted to shrink to less
than 1% in 2010.

The rate of decline for dairy drinks will slow marginally, mainly due to
white milk, whose performance is often more related to birth rates and other
demographics than the economic environment. Meanwhile Canadean is forecasting
a very similar performance this year for hot drinks. As with white milk, hot
drinks consumption is not as influenced by economics as some other
categories. There is, however, some evidence that consumers will drink more
hot drinks if they stay at home and this is probably responsible for the
small increase being seen in this mature sector.

What will be encouraging to the industry is that only two markets in the
region are forecast not to register an improved volume performance in 2010:
France and Sweden, and even then the variances are insignificant, say the
Canadean specialists. The market does seem to be going in the right direction
if only slowly. The challenge for the industry will be to reinstate some
value into the market.

For further details on Canadean's Quarterly Beverage Tracker, please
contact Debra Richards on tel: +44 (0)1256 394224.

Editor's Note:

Canadean is the beverage industry information specialist, providing
market research, reports, databases and consulting on the global beverage and
beverage packaging industries.

With headquarters in the UK and regional offices around the world,
Canadean has built a reputation as the benchmark for global beverage market
intelligence. Local operations are now based in Madrid, Buenos Aires, Mexico
City, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Sydney.

Date: 23 February 2010

Issued by the Corporate Marketing Department of Canadean Ltd, the leading
global beverage research company.

    Canadean Ltd
    12 Faraday Court
    Rankine Road
    Basingstoke
    RG24 8PF
    England
    Tel: +44-(0)-1256-394210
    Fax: +44-(0)-1256-394201
    Email: sales@canadean.com
    Website: www.canadean.com

Canadean Ltd, 12 Faraday Court, Rankine Road, Basingstoke, RG24 8PF, England, Tel: +44-(0)-1256-394210, Fax: +44-(0)-1256-394201, Email: sales at canadean.com