Drink companies will turn to technology and collaborate with suppliers to combat sugary drinks tax pressures, advises InfinityQS.

Sugary drinks tax pressures. Packaging firms, raw materials suppliers, and beverage companies will all feel a significant increase in pressure if the proposed sugar tax is enacted, resulting in beverage companies needing to place a greater emphasis on developing new, innovative ways to drive down the costs of its products.

According to Doug Fair, chief operating officer at Statistical Process Control (SPC) software specialist InfinityQS, if this is to be effective, collaboration and transparency across the supply chain and amongst all parties is critical.

The debate surrounding the introduction of a sugar tax on fizzy drinks has gained significant momentum of late. Most recently, the NHS announced that it planned to introduce its own 20 per cent tax on all fizzy drinks sold on NHS properties by 2020.

This was followed up by the British Retail Consortium saying that it would break with the ranks of the food industry by accepting a sugar tax in order to address concerns about obesity, as well as calling for greater legislation around special offers on unhealthy foods.

“The prospect of a tax on fizzy drinks is really gaining momentum and for the drinks industry, the ramifications are going to be huge. Addressing costs of quality, including scrap, rework, and inspections, is going to be critical to this process. An example of this might be reducing overfill – failure to address this is literally pouring money down the drain. It is therefore imperative that firms take definitive actions to improve both efficiencies and operations by implementing an effective quality management system”.