Over the past thirty years, beverage production has reached an annual output exceeding 80 million tons. Although it is an astonishing figure, the writer still believes there is huge space for development. Meanwhile, the beverage industry is also facing severe problems, such as the low-skilled, over-homogenized beverage products. In order to avoid the ever-worsening situation of homogenization, it is necessary to analyze the developing trend and draw a clearer picture of future beverage industry which enterprises can refer to. As far as the write can see, there are altogether five developing tendencies.
Diversified Demands for Drinking Water
Bottled water has already taken 40 percent of beverage market share. This figure is expected to rise due to people's increasing demand for quality drink water and the fact that all of China's water bodies are polluted to various degrees of severity along with the China's industrialization. Throughout the year, you could see an increase in water consumption.
In a water market where there are water giants and over-homogenized water products, there still exist diversified needs for different drinking water, such as barreled water, high-end mineral water, and natural soda water, among various others.
Health Benefits Go Along with Fruit and Vegetable Juice Drinks
Along with urban agglomeration, consumers will face the surging price on vegetable and fruit items. Some beverage manufacturers can take raw material proximity to their advantage, building near market to meet consumers' needs for cheaper, healthier drinks. As people's improving living standard and increasing awareness of health, fruit and vegetable juice drinks would gain more popularity. This kind of drinks, however, will be affected by the resource conditions.
Beverage Powder for Convenience and Quickness
The occurrence of Xiangpiaopiao milk tea brings new hope for the beverage powder industry.
Although coming more recently than bottled milk tea, Xiangpiaopiao milk tea sells better than those bottled ones, not only because Xiangpiaopiao Company has better market operators, but also due to the fact that its milk tea suits consumers' tastes for hot beverage. A hot drink delivers delight and relief to those in need.
Just because Xiangpiaopiao Company is successful doesn't mean other beverage manufacturers can blindly follow and imitate Xiangpiaopiao. As a matter of fact, Xiangpiaopiao Phenomenon creates a new way of selling beverages like coffee, milk coffee, cocoa, chocolate, malt milk extract, tea, milk powder, and powdered fruit, which is worth noting and trying.
Beverage Blends Heating Up
The last several years has witnessed the popularity of beverage blends, such as Wahaha's Pi Er Cha Shuang, a beer-flavored carbonated tea, Huiyaun's juice and nectars, Nongfu's soda and ice tea, Coca-Cola's Sprite and ice tea. However, consumers vote with feet.
Juice, soda, and tea are healthy elements while the carbonated drink is considered unhealthy. To blend carbonated drink with juice, soda, or tea means good plus bad combination, resulting in waste beverage. Most of people who want to drink carbonated beverage would choose cola thanks to the caffeine that cola contains.
Beverage blends does not always lead to failure. The Nutrition Express which is a juice and yogurt blend, and red date and yogurt blend are very successful. When making blend, manufacturers had better choose good plus good combination.
Functional Beverage Shows Huge Potential
As early as fifteen years ago, Jianlibao Company can achieve a sales volume more than 2 billion RMB, which was once the best seller in China. Today's Wanglao Ji, with its catchphrase pa shang huo, he wang lao ji(if you worry about heaty, drink wang lao ji), can achieve up to one million RMB in sales.
In China's huge market, there exist large numbers of consumers with different needs. Market potential for functional beverages remains positive. Compared with other drinks, functional beverages feature higher profits, and have more reliable consumers. Therefore the functional beverage market also can be a place which allows various manufactures to contend. So far, there have been many manufacturers in that market, such as Gatorade, Mizone, Jihuo, Redbull, and Ichi More as well as various beverages like chrysanthemum tea, wax gourd tea, and American Jinseng tea.
Since the golden age of Jianlibao Beverage Company, there have been no real sports drinks that literally suit every Chinese consumer's taste. The market for sports drink is so huge that it allows more great beverage companies like Wanglaoji, Jianlibao, and Redbull to rise and boom. Who will be the next beverage giant in China? Maybe time will tell.
English
Français
العربية
Español
Português
