Youth-targeted sugar-sweetened beverage marketing in local communities

Introduction: Although beverage companies advertise extensively in national media, more than half of their youth-targeted marketing expenditures are devoted to marketing that occurs in local communities. Limited previous research has examined these locally-based marketing practices. This presentation documents beverage company marketing that occurs in stores, on product packaging, and local events and sports sponsorships. Methods: We utilized syndicated data to quantify in-store merchandising for sugar-sweetened beverages, including price promotions, displays and store circulars; conducted content analyses of youth-targeted features and health/nutrition messages that appeared on product packaging; and document the extent of local event and sports sponsorships. Results: Beverage companies extensively utilize merchandising to push sales of their products in stores, including in convenience stores frequented by young people. Youth-targeted features appeared most often on packaging for fruit drinks, high-sugar beverages that are widely consumed by children and minority youth. In addition, the majority of sugar-sweetened beverage packages featured health and/or nutrition-related claims. Finally, local event and sports sponsorships and sports celebrities are used primarily to promote sugar-sweetened beverages with cool and fun messages designed to appeal to youth audiences. Discussion: Beverage companies promote sugar-sweetened beverages extensively in local communities and many of these practices utilize messages that appeal disproportionately to young people. These types of marketing are excluded from the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children; however, they are likely to have a significant impact on young people's preferences and consumption of these high-calorie products with no nutritional value.