Is your beverage product healthy or high-end? If it is you are officially on trend with these two movements making the biggest waves in the Australian drinks sector, according to the following sector-by-sector snapshot.
Soft sales
Soft drink makers made $12 billion in sales in Australia in 2013, according to Euromonitor, and the fastest growing categories were RTD teas and sports and energy drinks.
As Australians seek to cut down calorie and sugar intake, consumption of classic colas and lemonades have been bit hit hardest, according to Roy Morgan Research. It found that in an average seven days, consumption of these drinks declined from 56 per cent to 49 per cent between January 2009 and December 2013.
In contrast, sales of healthier carbonated categories, like unflavoured sparkling mineral water and mixer drinks, are on the rise, according to the researcher, albeit off a lower base. See the full story here.
Health campaigners have in particular targeted soft drink makers in their public communication campaigns, and Australian manufacturers have led the world in responding, with more than one third of soft drink products now on the shelves either diet or low calorie variants.
Juice company nudie recently entered the healthy carbonated category with the launch of nudie & soda which is made from real fruit and contains on average 29 per cent less sugar that best selling non-diet cola soft drink in Australia.
Ingredients for success
Flavours for health, such as herbs and spices, honey and new-generation superfruits and even veggies, will be the next hits in the global beverages market, according to Innova Market Insight.
While flavour trends can vary a lot by region, Innova says rising interest in superfruits is evident globally, with pomegranate leading the field, accounting for over 40 per cent of tracked beverage launches featuring superfruit flavours over the June 2008 to May 2013 period, followed by açai and lychee with 12.5 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.
Emerging or new-generation superfruits include guanabana/soursop, cactus/prickly pear and marula, mostly in soft drinks but also alcoholic beverages and hot drinks.
The good-for-you beverage space is also high on the radar of ingredient companies. DSM, for instance, has developed an Oat Beta-glucan-based ingredient called OatWell which is suitable for use in a wide range of food and beverage applications including instant powder drinks, and Tate & Lyle's Promitor Soluble Gluco Fibre, which used with its no-calorie Tasteva Stevia Sweetener, helps maintain the right mouth feel and increase fibre content.
Beer blues
Alcoholic beverages companies are also experiencing their share of ups and downs, but the premium space looks to be creating the biggest buzz is in most categories.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, beer consumption has hit a 66 year low in Australia, yet growth of the craft beer category has gone from strength to strength.
According to IBISWorld, though the market is currently worth around $161 million, it has grown more than ten per cent since 2009. The Craft Beer Production industry has expanded dramatically to more than 130 breweries across the country. In this report we feature one of these - Burleigh Brewing.
Cider is one of the fastest-growing alcohol categories in Australia and not surprisingly, the sector is a hive of activity. You can read more about what's happening on the local landscape here.
Wine wrap
The wine industry is dominated by a high number of smaller less profitable producers, and many have reported substantial losses in recent years.
Though Australian wine was a global success story in the 1980s and 1990s, its fortunes have changed thanks to wine grape production levels, the high Australian dollar and reduced global demand following the global financial crisis.
Wine exports may have seen overall declines, but the average value of Australian wine exports continues to rise, according to the latest Wine Export Approval Report released by Wine Australia.
The average value of exports increased by one per cent to $2.59 per litre, due mainly to a three per cent increase in the average value of bottled wine to $4.58 per litre. China remains the largest destination for Australia’s premium wines above $7.50 per litre, according to Wine Australia. Many companies, including Taylors, are seeking to better position their premium products to tap this growing trend.
Rising spirits
In Australia, the manufacturing of spirits is smaller in scale than the beer and wine sectors, however a rise in smaller distilleries is also occurring. While the growth in craft spirits is an international trend, the small boutique-style bars that are increasingly popping up in Australian cities are helping the trend along.
In one example, three boutique Australian-based distillers The West Winds Gin, Tequila Tromba and 666 Vodka have teamed up to co-promote each other’s brands through a local distribution company known as Local Craft Spirits that aims is to enlist bartenders as their brand ambassadors.
