Flavor enhancers let consumers customize their beverages. Juice makers combine flavors (especially superfruits), and tea brands go with lower-calorie sweeteners.
There are many contenders in the world of nondairy beverages and new ones keep pouring in. Manufacturers of waters, juices, coffees and teas have to continually find ways to set their offerings apart from the competition.
Sales of refrigerated ready-to-drink coffee units rise 155%. Tea doesn’t fare badly, either. Sales of canned and bottled tea, a billion-dollar industry, rise nearly 5%.
Based on the latest findings, it’s possible that consumers are passing up their local coffee and tea shops for the nearest grocery store because ready-to-drink coffee and tea sales are increasing.
Data provided by SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, show that sales in the shelf-stable tea/coffee ready-to-drink category rose 3.2% to $1.6 billion in the 52 weeks ended July 8, 2012, with the unit sales also showing an increase of 5.1% to 747.7 million.
Tea, even when served cold, is hot. Other than water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world and the 6th or 7th most consumed beverage in the United States.
In the last 52 weeks, unit sales dropped 2.8% in the refrigerated juices and drinks category, but processors were able to increase prices an average of 11 cents.
June 6, 2012
The refrigerated juices and drinks category includes orange, apple, cranberry, grape, blended fruits and other flavors. Lemonade and vegetable drinks also fall under this umbrella. In the 52 weeks ended April 15, total sales in the category were $4.4 billion, an increase of 0.9%. Unit sales fell 2.8% to 1.55 billion. The only bright spot in the category was an average price increase of 11 cents. The data come from SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago.
As Baby Boomers seek better health through better beverages, makers of juices, teas, coffees and other nondairy beverages create a new generation of drinks that offer flavor, variety and the promise of a new way of life.
The post-World War II baby boom led to a population increase, a need for diversity and a change in cultural identity. Baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) have turned into “beverage boomers” who seek a healthy, well-balanced diet and practice a better-for-you lifestyle. These Beverage Boomers are changing nondairy beverages.