The manufacturer and the stores were taken to bed by the interest last year.
Christmas soda is popular with many Norwegians. Last year, Orkla launched the Fun Light Christmas soda juice, which was a smash hit.
The interest was so great that Orkla felt that they and the stores were unable to meet the demand for Christmas soda. Therefore, Orkla has strongly upgraded ahead of this year’s season.
– The reception that Fun Light Julebrus received last year was absolutely fantastic. We knew it was good, but were still surprised by the huge popularity. It is always exciting to launch new flavors, so it was of course great that so many liked the news, says communications manager Anne Gjemdal to Nettavisen.
Orkla has several developers who work specifically to develop new flavors, and the Christmas soda flavor proved to be a hit with consumers.
– We are excited about whether the response will be as positive this year, but it seems so far that consumers appreciate the comeback, Gjemdal says.
A total of 83,000 bottles of Christmas soda juice were found in Coop and Rema stores around the country last year. With seven times as much production of the product ahead of this year’s season, just over half a million bottles will be on sale by Christmas.
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The shops are upgrading
In the Christmas soda night’s debut year 2020, the demand was so great that the shops ran out of product. Now the store chains are in full swing to get the “snack ice cream” on the store shelves.
– Both we and the manufacturer have taken into account higher sales this year. And even before Christmas Eve is out in stores, customers have begun to demand this year’s edition. We expect the first deliveries to disappear quickly, Harald Kristiansen, communications director at Coop, told Nettavisen on Friday.
Kristiansen states that the first bottles of Fun Light Christmas soda juice will be in place on the store shelves at most Coop stores from next Monday.
– Last year we sold 39,000 bottles, which were torn off the shelves in record time. This was a seasonal product, so it was not possible to re-order goods last year and we quickly ran out, he explains.
Last year, it was primarily Coop’s low-price chains Extra and Obs that had access to the limited selection. This year, more will have access.
– This year we are rolling out Christmas soda in all our chains. We have multiplied the purchase many times, and even though several of our chains are selling it this year, I probably would not wait too long to secure this year’s edition if it is on the shopping list for Christmas, Kristiansen informs.
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At Kiwi, too, they steel themselves for shopping parties.
– It will be the first year with Fun Light Christmas soda for us. We look forward to seeing how customers receive the news in our stores, says Nora Mile Helgesen, communications consultant at Kiwi, to Nettavisen.
At Kiwi, they will start selling the Christmas soda from Monday 18 October.
Rema’s press officer, Torkel Fjørtoft, confirms to Nettavisen that this year, too, the coveted product will be found on store shelves at Rema stores.
Private sale online
The stores and manufacturer Orkla failed to meet customer demand last year. The online newspaper then wrote about private individuals who posted the new Christmas soda juice sale on Finn.no. At that time, the price tag was between 100 and 1,000 kroner.
Even before store sales have started this year, many users have put the bottles up for sale on the digital marketplace.
– What do you think about people posting the bottles on Finn.no at such high prices?
– That people try to make money by selling the juice on Finn, is beyond our control. But we believe that this year we have produced enough, so everyone who wants to can buy Fun Light Christmas soda in the store before Christmas, says Anne Gjemdal in Orkla.
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