The Five Competitive ForcesDegree of RivalryAs has already been mentioned above, the major players in the Irish soft drinks market are Coca-Cola, Britvic Plc., PepsiCo and the DANONE Group. The game focuses on these four key players who hold a total market volume of 57.5%. This indicates that market shares among industry players are not equally distributed. The market is quite fragmented and the market giants operate alongside other smaller companies which account for a total market volume of 42.5%. As mentioned above, the growth rate of the sector in recent years has been relatively slow, hence the level of rivalry has increased (Marketline, 2013). In general, the low growth rate makes it very difficult for new players to compete with already existing companies in the sector. According to Marketline (2013), most competitors in the Irish soft drinks market operate only in the drinks market, making their activities quite similar. . This indicates that the occurrence of market fluctuations will strengthen rivalry because it affects each competitor equally (Marketline, 2013). Another element that increases rivalry is low switching costs for customers. This essentially means that industry prices do not fluctuate much between competitors. For most companies operating in the Irish soft drinks market, fixed costs represent the majority of the overall total cost. This means that the ease of exit will depend on the business model of the company. In other words, it is harder to exit for companies that own a factory, warehouses, trucks, etc., while it is easier to go out of business for companies that tend to to outsource everything. According to Marketline (2013) p...... middle of document ......dent.ie/irish-news/how-our-sending-habits-have-changed-26824868.html [20 April 2014] . 17. Carter Lorraine (2012) “Ecological packaging, essential for your profitability and the available environment”, Persona Design Blog, October 1. Available at: http://www.personadesign.ie/blog/going_green_with_sustainable_packaging_essential_for_your_long_term_profitability_and_the_environment (accessed April 10, 2014).18. Safefood 2009 BEVERAGES: Consumer knowledge and practices regarding drinks for children and young people [online]. August 2009, p1-25. Available at: https://www.safefood.eu/SafeFood/media/SafeFoodLibrary/Documents/Publications/Research%20Reports/9650_Drinks_Interior-Cover.pdf [Accessed: 04/18/2014].19. Euromonitor (2014) Soft Drinks in Ireland [online] April 2014. Available at: http://www.euromonitor.com/soft-drinks-in-ireland/report [Accessed: 18/04/2014].