Global Market Review of Functional Soft Drinks

This report aims to provide invaluable insight into a sector that has experienced a surge in growth in the early part of this decade, with fluctuations across certain sub-categories. In some countries, more recently, manufacturers have been finding their feet in a comparatively embryonic sector (compared to traditional soft drinks for example).

As consumers seek to achieve optimum performance in their daily life, at work, and while playing sport for pleasure or professionally, drinks manufacturers are in a position to meet consumer demands through innovative new product launches and line extensions. The next stage for functional soft drink (FSD) brands, however, is more specific targeting by occasion and health concern, opening up opportunities in ever-increasing circles to target new consumers and usages (such as post-exercise, flying, playing golf, improving mental performance for meetings, improving concentration and increasing short-term memory).

This report aims to provide a review of the current issues, trends and challenges in the FSDs market, considering energy and sports drinks as separate categories in the first part of the report and moving on to analyse opportunities in more specific sub-categories such as child- and senior-specific FSDs. Analysis of market value and volume sales, with forecasts to 2014, plus consumer and industry trends and developments are provided to identify and quantify future profit opportunities in the market.

The report analyses growth strategies implemented by multinationals and smaller players that can be used as a starting point for future strategy development. NPD in key markets including Europe, North America and Asia are investigated to provide insight into competitor activity, best-practice and potential opportunities for innovation. just-drinks has analysed a selection of the major drivers and trends in order to better understand the future direction of the FSD market and its current role within the three global megatrends: health, convenience and premium.

Chapter 1 provides an overview and introduction to the report.

Chapter 2 Market values and volumes for global functional soft drinks

The global soft drinks market is estimated to reach a value of around US$393.1bn by the end of 2009. By 2014, it is forecast to be at least US$483.8bn. The chapter starts with a table showing market value forecasts from 2009-2014 for the overall soft drinks sector in major global regions.

Between 2009 and 2014, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of global FSD value sales will increase from 5.07% (2001-2008) to 5.84% (2009-2014). By 2014, just-drinks estimates that the global value of FSDs will be US$49.9bn. Historic and forecast market values and volumes are provided for the global FSDs market.

Forecasts and reviews of value and volume growth for FSDs are provided in this chapter, with key functional soft drinks sector volume and value data tables presented in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 3 The sports and energy drinks market

Sports and energy drinks are shrugging off their specialist image and are being increasingly positioned as suitable for everyday use, i.e. for hydration, snack replacement and/or boosting general health. This shift in positioning has been a deliberate move by brand owners to gain wider acceptance in strong markets such as Europe to mirror the success witnessed in the US over recent years.

This chapter provides market value data for sports drinks from 2001-2014 by major market and also provides the same for combined sports and energy drinks.

Chapter 4 Functional soft drink market challenges

The pace of future growth of FSDs is dependent on many factors: consumers, industry developments, research and development, government regulations and campaigns, and the fast-changing economic landscape. Over the past two years, the global food and drink industry has been rocked by the economic downturn, rising raw material prices and fuel costs, the increasing influence of private labels and hard discount retailing on branded goods.

This chapter addresses five of the highly influential factors that are expected to help shape the FSD market to 2014:

• cannibalisation within the FSD market;
• global economic recession;
• health claims regulations;
• maintaining nutritional value throughout the product's shelf-life;
• rising raw material prices and fuel costs.

The chapter provides data including energy foods' value share of the total energy food and drink market value in Europe and the US.

Chapter 5 Emerging and future trends influencing NPD and marketing

This chapter identifies 14 of the major trends that just-drinks predicts will influence consumer purchasing habits and industry marketing, branding and NPD activities to 2014. By assessing current and evolving trends, it is possible to gain some level of insight into potential future trends. As always, health, convenience and premiumisation are the three leading megatrends driving the market forward, but the FSD market is starting to come of age in many markets, and even carbonated soft drinks are 'growing up'.

Chapter 6 Technical review: packaging and ingredients

Packaging and ingredients innovation are the cornerstones of new product development in the FSD market. The packaging must protect the drink and its nutritional value, as well as communicate the health benefits clearly and effectively. It must provide standout on shelf and be easily identifiable in a sea of similar products. Increasingly, packaging must also provide additional benefits such as being easy to consume on the go, easy to dispose of and environmentally friendly.

This chapter covers the latest packaging innovation such as RDA Organic's Squeeezy and Sqqquishy packs and ingredients innovation, commenting on next big future NPD ingredients.

Chapter 7 Focus on digestive and immune health

Products that promote digestive health and augment the strength of the immune system are identified by just-drinks as offering strong value and volume growth potential in the FSDs sector.

Alan Jelly, Yakult's UK marketing director, told just-drinks: "The arrival of products such as Yakult to the marketplace brought a different health proposition to consumers. Probiotics allowed consumers to take simple, positive steps each day to improving their overall health, and specifically their digestive health."

Rob Sutton, marketing director at Pomegreat, told just-drinks: "When it comes to an adult market, taste is of absolute importance."

Chapter 8 Five top takeaway action points

This chapter concludes the report's findings rounding up the five most business-critical points FSDs manufacturers and retailers need to consider. Also provided is just-drinks' top ten functional soft drinks trends for 2009.