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**As entries close for the <2008 beverage innovation awards>beverage innovation awards><1> (deadline 22 February), it's time to reflect on awards programmes from previous years, in which entries traditionally highlight market trends.**
Ready to drink coffee, a strong contender in late 2005 and throughout 2006, was present in the last awards, as was tea – in more variants than ever before. The ‘superfruits’ – açaí and pomegranate – began to appear in an increasing number of juice combinations. Clearer product positioning in terms of branding and benefit or occasion-related labelling was also a clear trend over the past two years, and issues such as natural and organic indicate the move towards provenance, fair trade and local.
But last year, as the judging panel met in Brussels to review the entries, it had to admit that the majority of innovations represented through the awards were in the juice arena. Yes, of course, the traditional carbonated soft drinks sector has evolved at a tremendous pace over the past 18 months, and new non-carbonated categories seem to have been created, but innovation in this sector has mainly been limited to ingredient variation and calorie reduction offerings.
Will this year’s awards see these trends continue or will something new emerge?
Categories overlapping “2006 saw the emergence of a huge number of category busting products, including carbonated juices, water with juice and juices with so many additives that they have evolved beyond pure juice to become complex beverages," said Zenith International Publishing's Bill Bruce. “It's becoming difficult to see where one category stops and another begins.”
As far as its activities in Brussels is concerned, UNESDA – the Union of European Beverages Associations – represents the interests of the ten major operators, plus all of the national associations of the non-alcoholic beverages industry – an industry fondly referred to until only a little over one year ago as the “soft drinks industry”. The juice industry is represented separately, as is bottled water, by other associations.
However, Bill Bruce points out that over three quarters of the businesses represented through UNESDA feature juice and drinks with a high juice content in their portfolios. Over one third of this year’s awards entries featured juice in one form or another, and more than one quarter came from companies that refer to themselves as juice businesses.
Consumer issues drive agenda "The issues that drive the regulators in Europe are mainly consumer issues," added Bill Bruce. "The UNESDA commitments saw an industry responding to the health and physical activity debate. Beyond that response, the industry was even praised for setting the agenda and raising the bar in terms of variety of offering, portion size and availability. In addition, it has gone on to present a clear message in terms of labelling and is successfully monitoring the commitments. Beyond the original nine signatories, close to 100 companies have now signed.
“Most of the consumer issues that interest Brussels affect juice as much as carbonates. In fact, all non-alcoholic beverages compete for consumers’ attention in an increasingly varied offering, ranging from overtly good-for-you products to the deliberately decadent.
“Some observers have said that the juice industry was concerned that so many traditional carbonates companies had diversified into juice, cynically suggesting that this was a ploy to distract from the real issues concerning sugar and so on. In fact, these companies entered the juice arena directly due to consumer demand.
“The beverage innovation awards present a fascinating opportunity to take a snapshot of what's happening across the whole non-alcoholic drinks industry right now. To the consumer, and to many in the industry, each different category and type of drink simply offers a choice dictated by occasion, benefits, needs – and in many cases, cost.
“I've written in past issues under the heading ‘One industry, one voice', as I firmly believe that, while there are many issues which dictate a separate agenda for each association, the consumer issues provide common ground that should be dealt with on a common agenda. The awards process therefore forces us to look at traditional carbonates alongside juices, just as the consumer might contrast and compare non-alcoholic drinks options in-store.
“I hope that the issues that bind these products together may soon be reflected in increasingly direct cooperation between the associations representing all sectors, including juice and water.”
Finalists and winners in the 2008 beverage innovation awards will be announced during the 4th InnoBev Global Soft Drinks Congress in Moscow in April.*
<1>: http://www.beverage-innovation.com/2008beverageawards%28New%29.asp