Carbonated drinks may be on the wane, but iced tea, breakfast drinks, and coconut water are gaining momentum according to the latest research from Roy Morgan Research and Innova Market Insights.
“The 21st century has not been kind to flavoured carbonated soft drinks,” Roy Morgan Research says. It has found the number of Australians 14+ consuming them continues to decline.
According to the researcher, 71 per cent of the population drank at least one soft drink in any given four weeks back in 2003, but this has fallen to just 52 per cent by June 2014.
In contrast, it finds, Aussies of all ages and socio-economic status are increasingly taking to iced tea and breakfast drinks.
While these markets are still much smaller than those of soft drinks, iced tea and breakfast drinks are among the few non-alcoholic beverages gaining popularity with Australian consumers, Roy Morgan Research found.
In June 2003, it found that just five per cent of the population drank iced tea and/or breakfast drinks, but by June 2014, this had more than doubled to 11 per cent.
Warren Reid, group account director – Consumer Products, Roy Morgan Research, says: “The chart shows a drop of 1.3 million soft drink consumers, but when we consider that the population has grown by 3.2 million, the impact on the category is much greater in percentage terms."
“The breakfast drinks category has for many years been the sole domain of Up’n’Go, but in the last couple of years we have seen other manufacturers getting in on the action, which suggests that this category is likely to continue to grow,” he says.
“One key reason for iced tea’s recent growth is that it’s more popular among people born in Asia, the US or Canada than those born in Australia. Indeed, the number of Asian-born migrants in Australia has increased by almost one million people in the last ten years — indicating that changes in a population’s ethnic mix over time can be a golden (or missed) opportunity for manufacturers.”
Innova Market Insights has also found that coconut water, promoted as a natural and healthy soft drink, is becoming mainstream in the US and is making inroads into Europe.
Coconut flavours and ingredients featured in over four per cent of global soft drinks launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 12 months ending June 2014, rising to nearly 10 per cent in the US.
Coconut also featured in over 6 per cent of global juice drinks launches in 2014, up from 4.5 per cent in the previous 12-month period and from less than 2 per cent five years ago.
“With sales of traditional carbonates and still drinks relatively static in many markets, the industry appears to be turning to coconut water, which seems well placed for the task of driving growth with its exotic image, unusual flavour and natural hydration properties,” Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights notes.
“These features, along with the fact that the leading multinational soft drinks companies are already taking an active role, suggest that the sector is on course for significant further development,” she says.
Bundaberg Pineapple & Coconut is one of three new beverages to be launched by Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. Its maker says the flavour combination is "very much on trend".
