Preparing for a Season without Cross Border Trade – E24

The Christmas soda will be fully launched in week 42, soda makers reported to E24. So starting today, October 12, two and a half months before Christmas.

It’s not uncommon for Christmas soda to be on sale for ten weeks, but this year someone is off to a good start. For example, customers may have seen Christmas sodas on the shelves at Rema 1000 for several weeks.

– We started a little earlier with the soda Grans simply because customers want it, as we see in the good sales figures so far, says PR and communications manager Calle Hägg at Rema 1000.

Several customers react each year to Christmas products that arrive early in the store, but according to the manufacturers E24 has spoken with, the products arrive at around the same time every year. The products are also in demand when they hit the store, according to the manufacturers.

– We will not deny people to drink Christmas soft drinks whenever they want, so we should have them on the store shelves when people start to feel the need, says Hägg.

He thinks Christmas sodas could be one of the top-selling items due to less cross-border trade this year.

In the second quarter of this year, Norwegians spent NOK 28 million on cross-border trade, figures from Statistics Norway show. This resulted in a 99 percent decrease from the 4.1 billion Norwegians spent on cross-border trade in the same quarter last year.

Sales growth

Ringnes has taken into account that it will sell more Christmas sodas than last year. They produce their own Christmas soda, but also Dahls and Hamar and Lillehammer soda.

– With the borders closed, we have received confirmation that a large amount of soft drinks are marketed across the border, says Marketing Director Ingrid Lønning at Ringnes.

She cites figures from the Brewers Association showing a 14.8 percent increase in total soda sales so far this year compared to the same period last year. In July, soft drink sales were up 54.7 percent compared to the same month last year.

– We have no reason to believe that we drink much more soft drinks in relation to the pandemic. But what we drink, we now buy in Norway. If the borders remain closed, we can expect sales in Norway to be significantly higher than last year, says Lønning.

– More sales in the areas near Sweden

Hansa Borg breweries began distributing the Christmas soda to wholesalers several weeks ago. The brewery produces the Hansa, CB and Borg Christmas soft drinks.

CEO Lars Giil says the brewery has braced for the fact that the grocery trade will be greater than if the borders had been open. The brewery has noticed this during the corona pandemic.

– One of the product groups that is increasing a lot is soft drinks, in addition to other typical cross-border products such as beer. They are increasing much more in the areas near Sweden, and we have had significantly more sales at Østfold, says Giil.

– Since the Swedish border is closed until Christmas, the Christmas rainy season will be more pleasant this year.

Drinks up to 30 percent

Aass Brewery, which only has Christmas sodas on the list of sodas they produce, has also seen an increase in sales of all drinks during the corona pandemic. Since week 12, beverage sales are 30 percent higher than last year compared to the same period last year, reports press contact Anders Juul-Dam in Aass.

– This is partly due to the closure of Swedish trade, but it’s hard to see how important this is, says Juul-Dam.

Typically, 60 percent of Oslo’s population and about 70 percent of Viken residents in Sweden shop at least twice a year, according to a report from the Nielsen research agency this summer. Travel came to a halt when Norway introduced travel restrictions in March, according to the report.

Juul-Dam adds that it’s not just the lack of Swedish trade this year that Aass has made more Christmas sodas. His soda won VG’s Christmas soda test last year and thus landed a spot in various stores this year, according to the press contact.

The number of shifts has increased

Orkla, which produces Nidar Christmas marzipan, will offer a selection of marzipan in early October.

– It has become a tradition in the last 30 years, and shops that wish can place the sweets, writes communications director Elisabeth Aandstad Ekheim in Orkla in an email to E24.

Orkla has also seen an increase in sales throughout the pandemic. Sales of Nidar candy have risen about 20 percent since the crown crisis began in March, Ekheim says.

– Much of this is undoubtedly due to the loss of cross-border trade, we also see that people travel less and enjoy more at home.

Therefore, the Nidar factory produces more marzipan and Christmas sweets than last year.

– We have increased the number of shifts at the Nidar factory this fall and are producing at full capacity, says Ekheim.

Hired six new

The small Hval chocolate factory in Sandefjord also makes Christmas marzipan every year. Christmas products are not shipped until the first week of November.

– Do you think you will sell more due to low Swedish trade?

– That is sure. Some of the products would normally have been shipped to Sweden, but there are more suppliers in Sweden and it is getting more diluted, says founder and CEO Rune Forsberg.

Says Whale can produce marzipan until Christmas if need be. The chocolate maker has been given a production line and has already grown from 14 to 20 employees due to increased demand with no cross-border trade, Forsberg says.

– If we run out quickly, we turn around, says Forsberg, who says they can also step up production on weekends if large orders come in.