A burgeoning consumer preference towards healthy, functional beverages with natural flavourings made from local fruits and herbs continues to influence new product development within the beverage sector, according to Canadean’s latest quarterly Beverage Tracker.
Raspberry variants are enjoying significant success in Austria, largely thanks to the further expansion of ZF Getraenke’s Keli brand. In the flavoured water segment, the category also benefited from the introduction of raspberry variants of Karlovarské Mineralni Vody’s Waldquelle, Vöslauer Balance and Coca-Cola’s Römerquelle Emotion in 2014, Canadean said.
In the Czech Republic, bottlers have been employing flavour innovations to galvanise consumer interest, notably in still drinks and carbonates. Traditional flavours such as lemon have been squeezed by unique flavours such as herbs, tree-derived flavours such as birch or horse chestnut, fruit mixes and many others including cactus and lychee.
Estonian consumers are striving for healthier beverages, with additional vitamins. Last year saw the introduction of Olvi Group’s Vitamineral water, with additional flavours launched this year. Olvi’s Aura Active Shake, also aimed at health-conscious consumers, performed well in 2014 with natural berry and apple-cherry variants added this year.
A natural evolution
Consumer experimentation is fairly high in iced and ready-to-drink (RTD) tea drinks, with almost two-thirds of consumers saying they opt for new flavours sometimes or often. 65% of regular RTD tea drinkers also say they actively use food or drinks to improve their health.
Within this category, functional options are meeting demand for added benefits through natural sources, and producers are paring back ingredients to offer purity and convenience, for example with Alnatura’s Eistee, an organic lemongrass-flavoured RTD tea drink sweetened with stevia and grape juice extract, Canadean said. At the same time, preparation style, leaf origin, and picking season are being communicated more effectively in the ready to drink space, driven by migrating cultures and consumer curiosity.
Craft treatment for soft drinks
The motivation for trying new flavours for many consumers is inextricably linked with the trend towards healthier beverage choices, the market research company argued. Whether this mounting demand for natural ingredients will develop into a discernible craft segment for soft drinks, similar to that seen in the beer and cider categories, is debatable.
For producers, to entice these floating drinkers into one overriding artisanal segment, they must strive to deliver flavours that complement any added value benefits and endure beyond the novelty stage.
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