In per capita terms, consumption of soft drinks in the UAE are forecast to increase from an expected 355/litres in 2013, to 390/litres in 2017, according to Business Monitor (BM). The soft drinks category includes bottled water, carbonates, juices and functional drinks (energy drinks). This is a solid volume outlook and is likely to be amplified by the premiumisation potential of the UAE market, with consumers increasingly trading up to more expensive brands. Reflecting the overall opportunity still inherent to the soft drinks industry in the UAE, BM forecast soft drinks value sales in local currency terms to grow at compound annual rate of 10.1% to 2017. BM sees the sizes of the industry growing from an estimated US$ 3.6BN in 2012, to US$ 5.7BN by 2017.
