Hot and soft drinks market outlook
Euromonitor International has published new analysis on the hot and soft drinks markets.
The global hot drinks industry performed well, achieving slight improvement over growth in 2014, according to the research.
Hot drinks growth reached 7% in off trade current value terms with tea being the fastest growing industry category, followed by other hot drinks and coffee. Total volumes in hot drinks grew by 2%.
2015 was characterised by weakness in key emerging markets for consumer goods, particularly BRIC markets. However, in the hot drinks category among the BRICSs, India achieved 6% total volume growth for hot drinks in 2015, up from 4% in 2014. India’s economy and demand for hot drinks have been less impacted by the slowdown in the global economy because its GDP is less reliant on exporting of manufactured goods and raw materials than Brazil, China or Russia.
In regards to soft drinks, the global industry saw marginal growth from 2014 to 2015. Growth reached 5.5% in value terms with energy drinks as the fastest growing category, followed by bottled water and sports drinks. Total volumes in the overall soft drinks category grew by 3%.
Michael Schaefer, head of soft drinks and hot drinks research, says, “The soft drinks industry faces multiple headwinds in 2016. Key emerging markets will continue to struggle, while health concerns are growing and shifting. Traditional low calorie options may not be enough to carbonates; consumers are increasingly sceptical of added ingredients, particularly artificial sweeteners.
“Reduced sugar carbonates underperformed regular, full calorie carbonates in both North America and Asia Pacific. A large scale shift to lighter, often naturally less sweet beverages – bottled water above all – will continue to drive innovation globally.”
