Recent Trends and Statistics in the Beverage Industry
The beverage industry is one that is constantly growing and evolving, based on customers’ tastes, new ideas and innovations, and ever-changing trends when it comes to lifestyle, dietary choices and more. Companies within the beverage industry are always evolving to meet the needs and preferences of the customer and create products that have brand recognition as well as staying power when it comes to flavor and popularity.
It seems that 2020 is the year of the “all natural” for many brands, with seltzer water still seeing a huge surge in popularity; more and more companies are entering the market and debuting their own seltzer water and sparkling water brands. Seltzer water giant La Croix, one of the more popular and “original” brands in the industry, still continues to see good numbers, and have released three new flavors in the past couple of years to compete with newer brands like Bubbly and Aha, a Coca-Cola brand. Other water, soda and juice companies like Dasani and others have also thrown their hat into the sparking water ring, and even alcoholic beverage companies like Budweiser and Natural Light have their own “hard seltzer” offerings that are hugely popular among cocktail enthusiasts (these join the incredibly popular White Claw and Truly brands).
For those who don’t love seltzer, another big trend that follows the “natural” bandwagon is sodas that contain juice or are sweetened with alternatives such as Stevia, monk fruit or other natural sweeteners. Botanical and herbal flavors in beverages are also very on trend right now. Even energy drinks are following suit, with many major brands offering more natural or organic flavors and ingredients’ lists to their arsenal of varieties.
Looking at beverage industry statistics across the world, it appears many of these trends are universal, with customers across the globe looking for more natural and organic beverages to enjoy. For example, in recent years, Uganda saw a drastic increase (4.5%) in the amount of fermented beverages manufactured, with high demand there and elsewhere for all natural beverages such as kombucha and other fermented juice products, which have been highly touted as a good healthy alternative to juices and sodas. A quick glance at any grocery store or market will show entire aisles devoted to more “natural” and “healthier” soda, juice and drink options, including apple cider vinegar drinks, coconut and cactus waters, naturally-sweetened sodas and cocktails, sweetened and flavored water beverages, and more.
Formerly an athletic-wear company, the Body Armor brand has seen great success with their sports drink, similar to gatorade/powerade, which is naturally sweetened and often contains coconut milk, juice and other natural ingredients. Gatorade has responded to the competition by offering an organic version of their own popular beverages in a variety of natural flavors.
While natural and organic are still reigning supreme, other companies have gone in different directions, offering new and interesting flavors to their already popular drinks; some of the new 2020 flavors include Creme Soda Dr. Pepper, Red, White & Blue Mountain Dew, and the highly anticipated Pineapple Pepsi. While natural and organic are on top right now, it seems that occasionally customers still want something fun, exciting and new from time to time and are still swayed by new flavors.