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Fruit-based beverages provide vitamins and nutrition
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Friday, 01 August, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Sajad Ahmad Wani
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fiogf49gjkf0d The Indian food & beverage industry is estimated to grow to $300 billion by 2015. About 25% of the F&B market is organised and 75% of it is unorganised. Non-alcoholic beverage market is around $5 billion. Health beverage market is worth $300 million and is fastest growing. The beverage market includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic ones.
Fruit-based beverages provide consumers with vitamins and nutrition as well as the liquid needed to maintain good levels of water in the body, necessary to sustain well-balanced and healthy life. A wide range of materials of plants are used to manufacture beverages. The material used includes leaves, stems, sap, fruits, tubers, and seeds (grains).
The market for beverages in many countries is broadly divided into those that are consumed to quench thirst of a consumer and those that are consumed on special occasions (e.g. in festivals). First group is mostly non-alcoholic and include tea, coffee, and soft drinks (including carbonated drinks, nectars, and juices). Certain countries used the products on social occasions, and in other areas alcoholic beverages are preferred (even soft drinks are available there). The market for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in most countries is specific with regard to religious and cultural taboos.
In India, in the beginning of 80s, Cadbury had launched an apple drink in the RTS segment under the brand name of Appela in Mumbai and Delhi. The product was bottled under the contract arrangement at the pure drinks (the owner of Campa) plant. Cadbury also launched around that time a carbonated tea beverage by name 21. McDowell was the distributor of both these products.
Earlier, Cadbury made significant investment (reported to be INR 70 million) in an apple concentrate project in Kashmir and having failed in finding the profitable market for this concentrate abroad, they thought of this carbonated apple beverage to be launched in the domestic market. Both 21 and Appela flopped and in fact both the brands did not take off at all and thus were shortlived. Nestle’s powder iced tea beverage Paloma was also launched at that time and it was withdrawn later from the market. When I am seeing is the same old game being replayed. Earlier we had RTS beverage in glass bottles, fruit juices in can and powdered beverage in both glass and also in sachet packs. Over the years most of these brands disappeared. Today most of them have either already resurfaced or preparing plan to reappear in the market in their new avatar.
In India, fruit-based beverages category is one of the fastest growing categories, and has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 30% over the past decade. Today, the Indian packaged juices market is valued at Rs 1,100 crore (~US$200 million) and is projected to grow at a CAGR of ~15% over the next three years. The rising number of health-conscious consumers is giving a boost to fruit juices; it has been observed that consumers are shifting from fruit-based drinks to fruit juices as they consider the latter a healthier breakfast/snack option.
Nutritional significance
Beverages contain a great percentage of water. Not many nutrients are added by beverage to the diet; however it plays an important role in maintaining body balance by preventing dehydration.
Beverages are not usually taken for their energy value, even though fruit drinks contain quite a high percentage of sugar and therefore has energy value. Most importantly fruit juices provide a supply of vitamins and minerals.
Some beverages contain artificial flavourings and colourings. Using such additives is governed by legal requirements and it is important to keep to these regulations in order to protect the consumer from any undesirable side-effects. E.g., certain colouring agents are thought to cause hyperactivity in children, so need to be avoided.
Alcoholic drinks are judged in terms of flavour and the stimulant effect they produce. In most of the countries alcohol production is strictly controlled by agencies of government and it is difficult to obtain the necessary permits to produce these beverages legally.
Non-alcoholic beverages
A wide range of beverages can be manufactured, which contains as the base material, either pulped fruit or juice. Many are drunk as a pure fruit juice without the addition of other ingredients like water, whereas some are diluted with sugar syrup.
Broad categories of fruit drinks
- Drinks taken immediately just after opening.
- Drinks that are used gradually from bottles which are stored between uses.
The first category should not need any preservative if properly packaged and processed. However the 2nd category must contain permitted preservatives to have a long shelf-life after opening.
Different types of drinks
Juices: Pure fruit juice with nothing added.
Nectars: Contain normally 30% fruit solids and are drunk immediately just after opening.
Squashes: Contain normally at least 25% fruit pulp mixed with sugar syrup. They are diluted, to taste, with water and may contain preservatives.
Cordials: These are crystal-clear squashes.
Syrups: They normally have high sugar content, concentrated juices that are clear.
Every product above is preserved by its natural acidity and by pasteurisation. Some drinks (syrups and squashes) also contain a high concentration of sugar which helps to preserve them.
Alcoholic drinks
Wines and beers are the alcoholic beverages. Cereal is used to made beer, whereas wine can be produced from fruit. Each of them can be distilled to produce spirits with an alcohol content of 30-50%.
Both wines and beers are produced by fermentation which involves the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide as a by-product. Yeast of type Saccharomyces cerevisiae are used to produce wines or beer.
Suitability for small-scale production
One of the most competitive areas is the manufacture of beverages in which small businesses can operate. In technological terms for small producers, fruit drinks are the most accessible product, while even with these there is strong competition from carbonated soft drinks, and it is important to establish that there is customer demand for a certain drink before production starts. Production of wine is possible in some regions and can be successful, provided there are not any government restrictions on alcohol production. Beer and spirit production in most countries is dominated by large-scale players, and it is very difficult for small-scale producers to compete with them effectively. In some areas, scope might be there for upgrading traditional beers and spirits by producing a uniform-quality product which is attractively packaged.
A competitive landscape
The Indian packaged juices market has Dabur (its brands are Real and Real Activ) in the forefront with a market share of 55%. It is followed by PepsiCo with nearly 30% share. Others include Parle, Fresh Gold and Godrej.
Some of the other brands of fruit juices and drinks include Appy, Frooti, Maaza, Fresh Gold, Minute Maid, Slice, and Del Monte. Considering the attractiveness of the part, expanded consumer food companies such as ITC are working towards making a foray into packaged juices.
Opportunities in fruit beverage market in India Juice market throws up lot of opportunities
Shift towards 100% juices from sweetened juices: This is a wide opportunity to existing and upcoming juices manufacturing industries to spruce up their existing business and plan as needed for business or capacity expansion.
Healthy proposition: It has been investigated that consumers are making healthy choices in their beverage consumption that is why fibre-enriched juices and sugar-free juices are more in demand by consumers. Certain new juice variants claim to have no added sugar, so this can be positioned as a health attributes, for example, dry fruit apple juice by Balan Natural Foods.
Unique offering: Consumers are demanding unique fruit flavours apart from the usual mango, orange, or lime-based fruit juices. So companies are in a position to identify some of the unique fruit juices that can be offered - “Dry Fruit Apple Juice” for example, which is much sought-after due to the nutritive benefits provided by the combination of figs, almonds, raisins, dates and apple concentrate.
Product extension: Some recent product addition, such as Tropicana launched Tropicana fruit powder with no added preservatives or artificial flavours, which will be available in single-serve sachets and can be made into a full glass of juice simply by adding water.
It is appropriate to say that the fruit beverage market in India is still evolving. As there are many brands (both national and international) on the verge of succeeding and expanding further into the field, a newcomer can also cash in on this opportunity by promoting packaged and bottled fruit juices as part of the consumers’ daily diet. At the same time, it is critical to ensure affordability for consumers of juice, while maintaining the hygienic aspects and quality of products throughout the year.
Key challenges
Among all challenges, it is difficult to control the cost of production at the price points of juices, basically because of rising food inflation. Year-long supply of raw materials continuously and the non-stop production of juices for the full season is another production-linked issue that needs to be managed carefully. Lastly the vital importance is controlling transportation and logistics costs.
Fruit beverages are gradually cementing their place in the urban household in the metros and Tier I cities; although, reproducing the same positive results in Tier II and Tier III cities is still a struggle as residents in these regions still prefer fresh juices over the juice which are packaged as they are comparatively cheaper and also in sync with the traditional belief that juices are best consumed freshly pressed. Challenging and changing consumers’ perspective on value for capital (money), captures a regular spot in the common household basket necessitates an aggressive stance towards improving consumers’ awareness on the positive attributes of packaged juices and their merits over locally available options.
(The author is research scholar, department of food engineering and technology, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab. He can be contacted at sajadsliet@gmail.com)
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