Lisa Riley asks neighbourhood grocers to reveal their top selling big brands, the reception given to launches and whether a wide enough range of drinks in impulse size packs is available Judy Howard, proprietor of independent c-store The Village Shop, East Grinstead, West Sussex: "We are a village shop near a school with a mix of customers. Our best seller is Coca-Cola, but Sprite, Lilt and Lucozade all do well. We buy different flavours to offer variety to our customers, which works well. "The 500ml bottles are the most popular size, but we also sell quite a lot of cans. In the last 12 months we have stocked the Lucozades as they have come up. We also took on Hyposport from Performance Strategies, which didn't sell well as customers found it too expensive. We don't stock Red Bull because of parents' concern about the effect on children of its caffeine content, and it is too expensive." John Murrey, owner of four Mace stores in Sutherland, Scotland: "In all my stores Lucozade standard 380ml is the best seller with Coca-Cola coming a close second. Red Bull has started to sell well following TV advertising. Besides the small Lucozade, our most popular size across the brands is the 2 litre. I think the impulse size market is well catered for with all the main lines available. It's important to remember space is limited for most convenience retailers. "New products we have stocked in the last 12 months include Nescafé Ice which was a total disaster ­ not even the half-price promotion could get it moving. Both Robinsons Fruit Shoot and Volvic Touch of Fruit did fairly well." Phil McNally, trading controller at Alldays: "The most successful recent new launch has been Fanta Icy Lemon. To date we have seen little cannibalisation of Fanta Orange. The Lemon variant is a product many customers have seen abroad and have been asking to be brought over to the UK. Recent launches Coke's Alive, Britvic's Juice Up and Yazoo's Swing are set to move into the vacuum created in the market by the decline in Sunny Delight sales. "The big brands perform well, the 500ml sector continues to steal volume from cans, but the vast growth in the energy sector, predominantly cans, is slowing this shift. The only noticeable gap in the impulse size market has been a one-shot cranberry juice which has been satisfied by Gerber with the launch of one-shot Ocean Spray." Paul Beaumont, store manager of Costcutter store in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire and director of the Beaumont Costcutter stores: "Schweppes Lemonade has proved a good seller, but has a long way to go before beating Coca-Cola ­ our most popular soft drink. We took the energy drink V last year, a best seller in Australia, but it didn't take off. I think the market has been saturated with such products. We stocked Nescafé Ice for a short time, but only when it was on a half price offer. It stopped selling as soon as it went back to normal price. "Across the board the 2 litre bottles are the best selling size for us. We stock impulse sizes in all the good sellers and I feel our range is adequate." Mary Hornby, proprietor of independent general store Roys, Gosport, Hampshire: "Coca-Cola outperforms all other brands we stock although Tango is also a strong brand. All flavours of Robinsons without sugar sell well. In general we find that whatever is on offer moves quickly. "Located just behind a naval establishment we get a lot of custom from the younger generation, so cans are the most popular size followed by the 2 litre which are popular with families. "In the last 12 months we have stocked Robinsons Fruit Shoot which goes but not very quickly. We have also taken on various flavours of the Oasis drink but can't seem to get rid of them. I think it's because they come in glass bottles. "I don't think there is a need for any more impulse size bottles." Zena Prentice, manager of independent c-store MJ & D Bailey, Crawley, West Sussex: "Situated in the town centre we have a wide mix of customers and sell a lot of Coca-Cola. "Cans are the favourite size for all brands. We like to try new products and have stocked Five, Fanta Icy Lemon, all the new Oasis bottles and Red Bull in the last 12 months. Red Bull has been the most popular, but they have all sold well. I don't think there is a need for more impulse sizes, but Lucozade has been selling better since it became available in plastic bottles." Mr Bowers, proprietor of independent c-store Racecourse Wine Lodge, Redcar, Cleveland: "The whole of the Tango range is popular in our store but nothing beats Coca-Cola. Lucozade is another good seller while Red Bull only does reasonably well in comparison. Across the brands we sell 500ml and cans the most. We tried Volvic Touch of Fruit which went ok to start with, but it didn't last. Robinsons Fruit Shoot fared much better in the long term. Nescafé Ice seemed to sell ok but we have not reordered it as we are desperate for space which is also the reason we don't feel there's a need for more impulse bottles." Mrs Johnson, proprietor of independent c-store/off licence Johnsons General Store, Beverley, East Yorkshire: "After Coca Cola, Lucozade does very well. Red Bull is also popular. We sell more cans than anything, but the 500ml bottles are also popular. "Among the newcomers are Silver Spring's Smashers Jetz and Popstars which have sold steadily. "With so many new products all the time customers return to their old flames." {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}