Packaging
DRINKTEC 2009 PRESENTS PROCESS TECHNOLOGY PLUS RAW MATERIALS AND ADDITIVES FOR THE SOFT DRINKS INDUSTRY
Monday 13. July 2009 - Soft drinks must tap into societys megatrends
Trends in soft drinks are all about change and reinvention. The biggest challenge for companies in the soft drinks industry is to stand out from the competition and react as quickly as possible to the constantly changing market conditions and consumer requirements. If they are to be successful, soft drinks must tie in with societys big megatrends. drinktec 2009, which is taking place in Munich from 14 to 19 September 2009, is presenting process technology plus raw materials and additives for soft drinks.
Tapping into at least one trend, several at once if possible, is the rule of thumb in the soft drinks industry. Megatrends include naturalness, wellness/beauty/health, premium products, anti-obesity/weight control, convenience, of course, and mixing traditional market segments. An A.C. Nielsen study on market trends in Germany proves that in general consumers place the most importance on health, convenience and wellness.
In turn these trends all have their subtrends. Warnings about the sugar content of lemonades, for example, are increasingly common. Obesity! Caution, full of sugar and high in calories. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of this aspect and no longer want the beverage in this form. Consequently, working with publisher Dr. Harnisch of Nuremberg, drinktec 2009 is organizing a forum on the topic of Innovative sweetening concepts. In Hall B1 leading manufacturers (e.g. Tate & Lyle, Beneo-Palatinit) are presenting sweeteners of all kinds, in particular sugar, sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners. As well as information from the manufacturers, the forum is to provide trade visitors with an interest in sweetening with comprehensive and independent information on the sweeteners available, their properties and their applications in beverages.
Products are becoming more transient
Innovative product ideas and marketing concepts, for example from the segment comprising new drinks made from malt, tea, fruit juice and milk or yogurt are arousing great interest among consumers. Corresponding to the different regional requirements and trends of the beverage markets, the focus is on new developments from the sectors of flavoured waters, low-calorie carbonated soft drinks, non-carbonated beverages with health-promoting additional benefits, snack drinks containing pieces of fruit and fruit juices both with and without bits. Only those companies which bring innovative products to the market will survive in the future – and this is exactly what successful companies in the beverage industry have been doing for a long time, with just under a third of their sales coming from products that have been on the market for less than five years. But this also means that the products are becoming more transient. And the suppliers of raw materials and ingredients gathered in Halls B1 and B2 have adjusted to that a long time ago.
Organic is no longer a niche market
A market that has continuously grown over the past few years is, for example, that of innovative fermentation drinks. These trendy soft drinks meet the consumer wish for natural feel-good food. Around 350 million malt and fermentation drinks were sold in 2007 in Germany alone.
Organic has not been niche for some time now and is well on the way to becoming a sought-after and enjoyable healthy lifestyle product. Organic positioning depicts naturalness as being completely pure, while at the same time consumers almost always link the organic concept with healthy added value, irrespective of whether it is organic lemonade, organic spritzer, organic tea-based beverages, organic juice or organic water-containing juice. Smoothies, whole fruit drinks, are conquering the markets; they are produced to organic quality when required and are also packaged in recycled PET – what more could the environmentally aware consumer want?
Alcohol-free drinks and water with added benefit
Health-conscious consumers are focusing particularly on soft drinks with added benefit. Special plant extracts can inspire new creative added-value concepts, for example ginger, aloe vera or ginseng.
Water-based drinks are still the strongest segment in the soft drinks market. But it is also true that classic mineral waters, either highly-, slightly- or non-carbonated, will lose market share, while demand for innovative mineral water products containing fruit juice, flavours and added benefit will rise – which means margins may also increase.
Natural and mild
Many new beverage concepts are characterized by the fact that they are offered to consumers in as natural a state as possible, that is with no preservatives and with little or no carbonic acid. The beverages are often mild and easily digestible, and bottled in light, shatterproof PET bottles. The magic phrase with these beverages is cold aseptic filling.
drinktec highlights for soft drinks producers
New and further developments are expected at drinktec 2009 on these and on many other topics. 60,000 square metres of floor space (Halls A2, A5, A6, B4, B5 und B6) are devoted to product-specific process technology alone, and in Halls A3 and A4 exhibitors are demonstrating product-independent processing technology for producing and processing beverages, milk and liquid food in a display covering almost 20,000 square metres. In addition in Halls B1 and B2 all the market leaders from the raw materials and additives industry are presenting their innovations.
The forum programme at drinktec 2009 is taking a look at all aspects of the beverage industry, from production to management, Of course there is also something for soft drinks producers, for example the talk by Alice Diepenbrock from the marketing research institute Euromonitor on the subject, Soft drinks: Challenges and opportunities in the recession. A global overview and assessment of the market potential in Africa and the Middle East. The forum programme is divided into blocks of topics and is free of charge for visitors to drinktec. Simultaneous translation into German and English is provided for all talks.
Another highlight for the soft drinks industry in the supporting programme is the presentation of the Beverage Innovation Awards.