Drinks industry executives are in a more pessimistic mood at the dawn of 2017, according to the findings of the latest annual just-drinks Confidence Survey.

The majority of those surveyed (61.7%) late last year said they still expect 2017 to be a better year for their business than 2016, but the figure represents a decline on last year’s 67.2%. Meanwhile, nearly 11% – double the number in 2016 – expect their fortunes to worsen over the next 12 months.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

There were also signs of increased pessimism in the responses to other questions on the drinks industry’s operating environment and consumer confidence, with roughly a quarter of those surveyed expecting both to deteriorate in the coming 12 months.

Despite this gloom, executives remain bullish about their own companies’ fortunes, with only a small (albeit growing) minority expecting their domestic or international sales to fall in the year to come.

The US remains the priority market for drinks companies by some distance, ahead of China, the UK, Germany, Australia and India. Economic problems have dropped Russia and Brazil further down the pecking order, however.

See Also:

The survey, which is published today, also suggests that companies may reduce their expenditure on innovation and research and development during the year ahead, with a negative impact on the number of new products launched. Marketing investment is likely to continue to grow.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

For the full results of this year’s confidence survey, click here

For a US$1/EUR1/GBP1 trial subscription to just-drinks, click here