Soft Drinks Europe

We have the perfect read for you to find out why #OurSectorMatters to Europe! All in just three key facts: 1.Our sector is a key driver of jobs and economic growth. Discover the stories of local #SoftDrinks companies across Europe. 2. Our sector innovates. In fact, we are the most innovative in the food and drink industry 3. Our sector takes ambitious actions that drive meaningful progress across Europe 🔎 Discover more in our NEW article in @euronews 👇 euronews.com/business/2025/…

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip It is such a delight to admire cherry blossoms in Brussels. Find the best spots to see them 👉bruxellessecrete.com/en/cherry-blos…

🤔 How can associations advocate effectively in today’s polarised landscape? Our Director General, Nicholas Hodac, will share key approaches at next week’s European Association Summit, hosted by ESAE. Nicholas will be joined by top-level speakers for a session you cannot miss: 🔹 Ewa Abramiuk-Lété, General Manager, Liquid Gas Europe 🔹 Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive, European Policy Centre 🔹 Feriel Saouli, CEO, SEC Newgate 🗓️ 26 March 🕜 13:40-14:50 CET 📌 The Merode, Place Poelaert 6 - Brussels 🔎 View the event programme and register today 👉esae.eu/summit-2026 #EAS26

What is the contribution of the Romanian🇷🇴 soft drinks sector to Romania's economy and jobs? And how can the sector’s competitiveness be boosted? That’s what our Director General Nicholas Hodac discussed with policymakers and industry peers in Romania during the recent launch of the study ‘The socio-economic impact of the soft drinks industry in Romania’, conducted by the Academia de Studii Economice din București (ASE) for our Romanian member association, Asociația Națională pentru Băuturi Răcoritoare (ANBR). ➡️ This study shows that Romania’s soft drinks sector contributes ≈ €733 million (3.74 billion lei) annually to the country’s economy, supporting approximately 10,000 direct jobs and another 60,000 jobs across its value chain. Despite this, the sector remains one of the most heavily impacted by fiscal shocks in recent years. Other key conclusions from the study are: 🔹 Romania’s soft drinks sector contributes nearly €196.2 million (~1 billion lei) to the state budget in direct taxes and duties 🔹 the fiscal pressures and economic factors have led to a significant decrease in consumption and volumes sold 🔹 direct impact on jobs, investment and purchasing power, especially for low-income households ➡️ Taxation remains a key challenge. Taxes on soft drinks create a competitive disadvantage without delivering measurable public health benefits, including reductions in overweight and obesity. As current evidence demonstrates*, soft drink taxes do not lead to health benefits even after years of implementation, as obesity rates continue to rise in countries where these taxes have been introduced. 🗨️ Reflecting on these findings, our Director General, Nicholas Hodac, underlined: ‘We are in a situation where the economic growth in Europe is being challenged, where sales of our sector are also being challenged due to the introduction of fiscal measures, like taxation, increased VAT. This is not the way to support an industry that is driven by innovation. So, let’s instead start working together on measures that will actually help. Again, support an industry that is local, that is providing jobs to the communities, and that is extremely important to the European economy and, in this particular case, also the Romanian economy.’ 📽️ Watch the key highlights of the event. ⬇️ * A 2025 study from Tax Foundation Europe delves into case studies from several European countries that have implemented soft drink taxes over the years in an effort to achieve health-related goals. Yet, even after years of implementation, these soft drink taxes have failed to deliver health benefits in these countries, where obesity rates continue to rise. Check out the study 👇 taxfoundation.org/research/all/g…

Public health challenges in Europe, like obesity, are complex and there is no quick fix to address them. 🔔 Real progress comes with collective action and collaboration, when industry, health bodies and policymakers work together to find 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝, evidence-based 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 in real life. 🔔 For policies to be effective, they should be based on 𝐮𝐩-𝐭𝐨-𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬. Understanding what Europeans actually eat and drink helps design measures that are better targeted and more likely to achieve the desired results. 🔔 It is also important to 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, such as our sector’s sugar reduction efforts. These actions work: our sector has achieved an overall average sugar reduction of 35.1% across Europe over the past two decades. ➡️ Fiscal measures, such as soft drink taxation, are not the solution. As current evidence and real-world examples demonstrate, taxes on soft drinks do not deliver meaningful health improvements*. 🔎 Find out more about our sector’s sugar reduction journey 👉 unesda.eu/our-priorities… *A recent study by Tax Foundation Europe demonstrates that sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes do not lead to health benefits even years after being implemented, since obesity rates continue to rise in the countries where these taxes are in place. Check out the study 👇 taxfoundation.org/research/all/g… Even the WHO, the UN, and their agencies have repeatedly recognised that sugar-sweetened beverage taxes aren’t the best or most effective measure to tackle health issues.

📣 New opinion article by our Director General, Nicholas Hodac, calling on all European institutions to take their responsibility and offer practical solutions that provide the industry with a way forward for compliance with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Businesses cannot wait any longer. With only five months left until the PPWR enters into force on 12 August 2026, many uncertainties remain, holding back investments and business compliance. In particular, our sector is urging immediate legal clarity on these elements: 👉 𝐏𝐅𝐀𝐒 𝐛𝐚𝐧: While the @EU_Commission Legal Notice is set to propose a pragmatic approach to compliance with PPWR PFAS requirements, there is still no harmonised methodology for PFAS in food contact packaging at EU level and Member States can still decide not to follow the Commission's approach. It is critical to secure formal support and approval from all Member States for the proposed approach to ensure a well-functioning Single Market. 👉 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞-𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠: It appears that guidance on single-use plastic grouped packaging won’t be developed before the 2027 deadline (2030 is the PPWR compliance deadline). Without this guidance, the industry simply cannot make the necessary adjustments to the packaging that it currently uses. In fact, we already know that there will be serious supply bottlenecks, and the cost for transitioning to different solutions will be substantial (well above €2bn just for the soft drinks sector, according to recent estimates). Businesses need to know which specific types of packaging will be permitted or banned to plan properly and still aim for full compliance with the PPWR. 👉 𝐑𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: With the 2030 target fast approaching, clear guidance on how the reuse exemptions can be applied and the criteria for applying them is essential. Businesses need clarity to make the right investment decisions and that means that any exemption requests must be decided in time. 🔎 Read the full article 👇 euronews.com/business/2026/…

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip Fancy eating out? 🍽️ You can thank 18th-century French entrepreneur Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau for that. Roze invented the concept of modern restaurant, with individual tables and menus listing prices. 🔎 Find out more about this fascinating foodie fact: nationalgeographic.com/history/articl…

🌍 The EU political landscape may have become more polarised and unpredictable, but associations can still be impactful and advocate effectively. Wondering how? 📣 Join the upcoming European Association Summit, where our Director General, Nicholas Hodac, will be sharing relevant insights at what promises to be an unmissable discussion with: 🔹 Ewa Abramiuk-Lété, General Manager, Liquid Gas Europe 🔹 Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive, European Policy Centre 🔹 Feriel Saouli, CEO, SEC Newgate The Summit is organised by the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE). 🗓️ 26 March 🕜 13:40-14:50 CET 📌 The Merode, Place Poelaert 6 - Brussels 🔎 View the event programme and register today 👉esae.eu/summit-2026 #EAS26

What does Bornholms Mosteri A/S mean to Denmark and to Europe? A lot! It means local jobs and local production, given that Bornholms Mosteri A/S is a beverage company producing soft drinks in Denmark with local workers. As Josephine Senger Svendsen, CEO of Bornholms Mosteri, puts it: ‘For us, it isn’t just about making beverages, but also about supporting people and ensuring they have a good future.’ 📽 Watch the video to find out more about the company’s socio-economic contribution 👉youtube.com/watch?v=q9NdxV… ➡️ To remain competitive, Bornholms Mosteri A/S and the rest of our sector need a regulatory environment that is clear, coherent, and stable, while also driving innovation and fostering growth. ➡️ The EU’s regulatory simplification efforts can make this possible. Removing unjustified regulatory barriers that stifle innovation and are not science-based is just one of the necessary steps. 🔎 Discover how our sector is fostering competitiveness across Europe 👉unesda.eu/our-industry/s…

✅ It’s coming to Portugal🇵🇹 next month! ♻️ On 10 April, Portugal is set to introduce a Deposit Return System (DRS), operated by SDR Portugal, for single-use plastic beverage bottles and cans to boost the collection of these beverage containers for high-quality recycling. 🔄 This will be a major leap forward for the country in advancing a circular economy for beverage packaging and meeting the EU’s mandatory collection and recycled content targets. DRS are essential for building a closed-loop recycling system, enabling collected materials to be recycled into new beverage containers. 🔎 Explore our map to see how countries with well-designed and efficient DRS in place often achieve collection rates exceeding 90% 👉unesda.eu/our-priorities… 📷© SDR Portugal

‘𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,’ said @CHansenEU, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, at the launch of the first EU Food Dialogue last week, co-chaired with Executive Vice President @steph_sejourne (Prosperity and Industrial Strategy). We couldn’t agree more. The Commission’s commitment to strengthening stakeholder collaboration, as set out in its EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, is an approach our sector fully supports. Commissioner Hansen also made it clear: '𝘞𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘞𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵.' That’s exactly what we now need to see from the Commission: words turned into concrete actions. How? 𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥. It will give the industry the 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬 across Europe. For example, this means: ➡️ 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, thoroughly assessed, promoting fairness across the food supply chain, and recognising the importance of balanced diets and lifestyles. ➡️ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡-𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, including removing outdated rules without technical or scientific justification, such as the EU 30% energy reduction rule which restricts the use of low-/no-calorie sweeteners. This is a clear barrier to innovation and to further sugar reduction, which is also not in line with public health objectives. ✅ The first EU Food Dialogue was a promising discussion. Both Commissioners recognised the strategic importance of the European food and drink industry. As highlighted, this industry generates around €299 billion in added value, even more than agriculture itself, making it a cornerstone of Europe’s economy. 👉 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭. We support over 1.8 million jobs across our European value chain, produce more than 97% of our soft drinks here in Europe at over 500 production sites, and source more than 85% of our ingredients from European farmers. 👉 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 '𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞' 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫, sourcing and producing locally, while creating jobs and driving innovation. We are very much looking forward to the next EU Food Dialogue on competitiveness and the one dedicated on reformulation and dietary intake data collection. Driving further progress is possible through close cooperation and policies that give the industry the clarity, certainty and support it needs to make investments, foster innovation and create greater value for Europe. 📷 European Commission

On this International Women’s Day, get inspired by our sector’s brilliant women communicators, who remind us that communication is about creating positive impact and empowering others to use their voice, feel valued and recognised, and help create a better world for everyone. 👏 A massive thank-you to our colleagues for their incredibly inspiring messages: ⭐️ Alice De Lutis, Government Affairs Senior Coordinator, PepsiCo Europe ⭐️ Charlotte Meuwis, Communications & Advocacy Manager, SUNTORY BEVERAGE & FOOD EUROPE @SuntoryBF_GBI ⭐️ Lara López, Communications Manager, ANFABRA @unrefresco ⭐️ Julia Ståhle, Senior Advisor, Public Affairs and Communications, Panimoliitto 📽️ Watch the video ⤵️ #IWD2026

💡 UNESDA #FridayTip What if the streets you walk hold the stories of women who shaped their cities and countries? From Manchester to Reykjavík, some tours are bringing to light the forgotten stories of women who left their mark on history. 🔎 Go on these six European walking tours that celebrate women 👉bbc.com/travel/article…

📣 Final call for feedback! Stakeholders in the PET bottle value chain, this is your last chance to submit your input to the industry-wide consultation on the Design for Circularity (DfC) guidelines for PET bottles, launched by the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP). ⏰ This consultation will close on 15 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡. ♻️ The DfC guidelines were developed by the EPBP and represent the evolution beyond today’s Design for Recyclability (DfR) guidelines, setting a more ambitious benchmark: maintaining material quality and functionality across multiple recycling loops, consistent with EU policy expectations and industry requirements for closed-loop PET systems. ♻️ Your feedback will help ensure that the guidelines are practical, scientifically robust, and aligned with operational realities across the value chain. ✍️ Industry stakeholders are invited to provide their feedback through the consultation portal 👉 epbp.org/design-guideli…