→ To continue being an engine for #Europe’s sustainable #growth, our sector calls on the EU to provide clear, coherent and evidence-based policies that do not discriminate against any food, drink or ingredient, and that truly drive #innovation.

#OurSectorMatters

With 500+ production sites across the continent, we produce more than 97% of our soft drinks here in Europe, supporting over 1.8 million #jobs and generating €242bn in revenues throughout our European supply chain.

🎥 Watch the video to hear Ruxandra Melcovich, CEO of Merlin’s Beverages, explain why the company matters to Romania’s #competitiveness:
👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xuw...

→ As Merlin’s Beverages shows, our sector is a driver of Europe’s competitiveness.

This Playbook is a hands-on, practical guide that walks you through every step of DRS implementation:

♻️ how to design it
♻️ how to finance it
♻️ how to operate it successfully in practice

🔎 Explore it now!
👉 unesda.eu/our-prioriti...

Our sector supports the wider rollout of efficient DRS across Europe and is fully committed to helping countries make it work.

That’s exactly why UNESDA in partnership with @nmwe-europe.bsky.social commissioned a #DRSPlaybook from OLHC Consultants.

This requirement is unsupported by scientific evidence and does not exist elsewhere in the world. It is a real regulatory barrier to our sugar reduction efforts and it also does not align with public health goals.

🔎 Explore our sugar reduction journey across Europe
👉 unesda.eu/our-prioriti...

How can the EU further support our sector’s #innovation?

➡️ By removing the EU rule allowing food manufacturers to only use a low/no-calorie sweetener if the energy value has been reduced by at least 30%.

Soft drinks taxes fail to deliver positive health outcomes, even in countries where they have been implemented for years, as obesity rates continue to rise. One example of this evidence is the recent study by Tax Foundation Europe
👉 taxfoundation.org/research/all...

What does it all say?

🔹 Our sector has taken voluntary sugar reduction actions for many years, well before most soft drinks taxes were implemented.

🔹 Sugar reduction efforts are effective, not taxation and evidence demonstrates exactly that:

✅ Over the past two decades, our sector has achieved an overall average sugar reduction of 35.1% across Europe (Source: GlobalData). We remain the only EU food and drink sector to have responded to the European Commission’s 10% sugar reduction set out in its 2015 ‘Added Sugars Annex’.

✅ We achieved a 12.4% reduction in average added sugars in our soft drinks across the EU-27 and the UK between 2019 and 2024 (Source: GlobalData). This exceeds our 2019-2025 sugar reduction target of 10%. 👏

➡️ Low/no-calorie soft drinks are one of the most meaningful ways we are innovating, making it simple for consumers to enjoy their favourite beverages, while managing sugar intake, thanks to our ongoing #SugarReduction efforts.

Here’s how far we have come in innovating for sugar reduction:

As a sector, we will keep doing our part, and encouraging consumers towards balanced diets.

@christophehansen.bsky.social

➡️ It is also important to 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, such as our sector’s sugar reduction efforts, as these have proven to be effective. Over the past two decades, our sector has achieved an overall average sugar reduction of 35.1% across Europe.

➡️ It is crucial to ensure 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 among industry, health bodies and policymakers. That’s the way we can together 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

Then, what should be considered?

➡️ As we said, the EU should first 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞. Without this understanding, actions won’t deliver their intended results.

🔎 Check out the study here:
👉 taxfoundation.org/research/all...

Let’s also not forget that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐍 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐒𝐁 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬.

A recent study by Tax Foundation Europe demonstrates just that: sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes do not lead to health benefits even years after being implemented, since obesity rates continue to rise in the countries where these taxes are in place.

That’s a need that the European Commission rightly recognised in its EU Vision for Agriculture and Food for developing evidence-based policies. We look forward to seeing it set in action.

𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.