Juice Sector Rebounds From Sugar Debate

19 Sep 2016 --- The latest Tetra Pak Index says that although juice sales have taken a battering recently amid the debate about sugar content, the market is showing signs of stabilizing with 100 percent juice helping to bring it back to growth. Food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak has focused exclusively on the 100 percent juice market for the first time.

It says, despite global economic slowdown, the combination of emerging growth hotspots and slowing decline in established markets is stabilizing 100 juice going forward to 2018.

The report says 100 percent juice remains a significant part of the diet with more than 40 percent of people drinking it daily and health conscious consumers are willing to pay more for premium juices associated with healthy choices. 

And its Millennials who are driving sales as the most influential generation of consumers. Tetra Pak says that growth will come from products that meet consumer expectations and needs about health as well as out of home consumption, which are the trends resonating with Millennials the most. 

“It is good to see that brands globally are turning the challenges presented by changing lifestyles and the sugar debate into opportunities. They are driving growth in the 100% juice category with new products that capture the imagination of consumers, stretching beyond traditional fruit juices such as orange and apple, to a range of inventive vegetable blends, and new fruit flavors, creating endless possibilities for new recipes. As ever, the key to success is innovation, offering the right product at the right time to meet the modern consumers’ needs, and, just as importantly, capturing their attention and making a connection with them,” says Tetra Pak President and CEO Dennis Jönsson.

There has been innovation in the juice industry in three key areas; vegetable nutrition, “all natural”, and speciality 100 percent juice. 

In vegetable nutrition, blends where vegetables are combined, are the fourth most popular 100 percent juice flavor worldwide. New product launches using vegetables as an ingredient tripled in 2015 compared with 2012. 

Over the last six years, not from concentrate (NFC) juice has gained market share compared with reconstituted products, increasing from 25 percent in 2009 to just under 30 percent in 2015. New launches for products that make “all natural” claims have seen a compound annual growth rate of 25% between 2012 and 2015, particularly those with no additives and/or preservatives.

Globally more than 60 percent of consumers are interested in products with proven health benefits as well as adding vegetables into the mix, more and more producers are focusing on “fortified with” or “vitamin-enriched” 100 percent juice. In 2015 fortified products with functional health benefits in immunity, heart health, digestion, bone health, brain health and beauty made up two thirds of new product launches. 

Solid growth is already taking place in emerging markets like China and Brazil and other hotspots in countries including Malaysia, India and Indonesia, according to the Tetra Pak Index. 

The European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN) welcomes the Index saying it clearly spells out how and where producers can turn the challenges of the last few years and the debate around sugar content, into opportunities. 

“The launch of the 2016 Tetra Pak 100% Juice Index, a category report packed with global insights, is a great way to help the industry understand the opportunities available to them, and position juice as part of a healthy and nutritious diet,” adds AIJN President Marjan Skotnicki-Hoogland.

The report is based on market insights through the company’s partnership with customers around the globe, as well as recent research findings from 7,000 consumers in seven countries.