When flavour launches meet buyer fatigue
What merchandisers say about limited-edition carbonated soft drink flavours that fail to earn a lasting facing.
Limited-edition flavours can win a short promotional window and still fail to keep a permanent facing. Merchandisers describe the pattern clearly: the first shipment moves on display, the second shipment sits, and the SKU loses its slot to a core cola or lemon-lime line that turns faster.
Buyer fatigue shows up in language about ‘another mango’ or ‘another lychee’ without a pack or price reason to keep it. Interview rounds that capture that phrasing help brand teams decide whether a flavour needs a stronger pack cue, a tighter promo calendar, or a shorter planned life.
A quarterly category briefing on carbonated soft drinks can track which limited editions held shelf space after the promo ended — a more useful signal than launch week sell-in alone.