Competitiveness Assessment of Tonic Drinks Labeling

Labeling of alcoholic-free tonic beverages (AFTB) is an important element in the quality indicators system. Not all manufacturers, unfortunately, provide reliable information regarding the possible adverse effects of its use, or even hide data on low-quality products. There is a need for high-quality information AFTB support in the form of properly designed labeling, which facilitates the buyer choice while purchasing. The research purpose is to assess the labeling competitiveness of tonic drinks sold in the Kemerovo market. The study object is AFTB labeling: Drive, Tornado Energy Ice, E-ON Citrus Punch, Adrenaline Rush, Gorilla, Flash up. Research methods are visual product packaging inspection, registration method, expert assessments method (determining the weight coefficients), calculation method. First of all, researchers developed an evaluation algorithm. Points number detailing was due to the available additional information about the products safety. A man assessed labeling according to consumer criteria in keeping with the previously developed scale; while labeling according to group consumer criteria considering the weighting coefficients determined via the expert assessments method by ranking the previous studies results. The AFTB assessment was according to four criteria considering given score scale. Labeling of the tonic beverage Drive deserved the highest score (19.5 scores), Flash Up got the smallest (16.8 scores). Uncompetitive beverages in economic terms are Adrenaline Rush (1.048 scores), E-ON Citrus Punch (1.167 scores) and Flash Up (1.670 scores). The authors determined integral indicators and the competitiveness level of AFTB labeling. According to the obtained results, Tornado Energy Ice and Adrenaline Rush rated the 1st class competitiveness, Drive – the 2nd class, E-ON Citrus Punch, Gorilla and Flash Up – the 4th class. According to the economic criterion, these samples received minimal scores, that characterized it as uncompetitive in this parameter. The paper contains the recommendations for manufacturers to improve the quality and tonic beverages competitiveness